brand activism: advertising and the ethics of visibility

This book critically examines how brands determine the visibility of social issues through their advertising practices, informing the ways we are persuaded to think, feel, and act as consumers and citizens.

Through a critical analysis of brand responses to ongoing geopolitical events, such as the Ukrainian conflict and the war in Gaza, Scalvini demonstrates how commercial objectives drive ethical stances, leading to the prioritization of certain profit-driven narratives and the exclusion of more politicised ones. Drawing on in-depth interviews with post-Millennial consumers across North America, Europe, and Asia, Brand Activism critiques brands’ reluctance to engage with politically sensitive topics, particularly those affecting the Global South, arguing that this avoidance distorts the representation of moral responsibility in advertising. This book examines how ’ordinary’ consumers--those not strongly aligned with activist consumption-- negotiate the idea that they should take moral responsibility for their spending choices. However, it also discusses the rise of a new generation of consumer activists who reject superficial brand gestures and demand accountability for global justice. Case studies from brands such as Nike, Patagonia, Gillette, Dove, and Ben & Jerry’s are explored in detail to unpack the symbolic, rhetorical, and discursive strategies by which present brand activist campaigns are being hollowed out and re-articulated into a moral discourse.

This is valuable and insightful reading for advanced students and researchers in Media and Communication, Sociology, Marketing, and Business disciplines.

Marco Scalvini is a Senior Lecturer in in the Communications and Media Programme at London College of Communication at the University of the Arts London, UK.