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As previously mentioned, these advertisements transcend mere product promotion, inadvertently or intentionally communicating complex social values that shape life's routines far beyond culinary appeal.
This phenomenon is closely tied to the concept of commodity fetishism, where the focus shifts away from the labor and workers behind the production of goods, leaving consumers increasingly disconnected from the human effort that makes these products possible.
Wait, What is Commodity Fetishism?
Commodity fetishism is a Marxist concept that reveals how capitalist societies transform economic relationships into interactions between objects, not people. By mystifying consumer goods with symbolic meanings beyond their practical use, this phenomenon obscures the human labor and social conditions involved in production. Advertising plays a crucial role, selling not just products but dreams, identities, and values that detach consumers from the real-world contexts of manufacturing. This process turns commodities into magical symbols that fulfill emotional needs, effectively hiding the complex social and economic realities behind their creation.
Normalizing Cannabis in Advertising
Tweed's Cannabis-Infused Carbonated Drink
Have you ever realized these polished images are actually advertisements for cannabis products? The cannabis industry's strategies are on full display here, but as Kyle Asquith suggests in his article, these marketing tactics have become clichés, heavily borrowed from other misleading advertising practices (Asquith, 2021). For instance, once the cannabis industry identified its target demographic as young, social-media-savvy individuals, it began using platforms like Instagram to visually rebrand cannabis as an everyday product. By featuring cannabis alongside ordinary items like sunglasses, lipsticks, or headphones, these ads suggest that cannabis can be casually carried and used, seamlessly integrated into daily life. This transformation from a once-illegal drug to a revered consumer commodity, relies on visual and cultural cues that normalize its presence and use.
This tactic echoes strategies employed by the tobacco industry during the 1950s "cancer panic". Facing growing health concerns, tobacco companies ramped up advertising to emphasize the "fashionable" and "relaxing" aspects of smoking, portraying cigarettes as an essential part of modern life (Robinson, 2021). These efforts were remarkably successful, embedding smoking deeply into the fabric of modern social and cultural structures.
Normalization in Food Advertising
This phenomenon is also widely utilized in food advertising. For instance, Nutella exemplifies the marketing magic of transforming a non-essential product into a kitchen staple. Through clever public relations, the brand has masterfully positioned its sugary chocolate spread as a breakfast necessity. Slogans like "Breakfast Loves Nutella" and "Wake Up to Nutella" strategically blur the line between indulgence and breakfast essential. By creating a powerful psychological association, Nutella has successfully convinced consumers that this sweet spread is not just a treat, but an integral part of a morning routine, despite lacking any real nutritional merit.
Beyond this, as highlighted in week 5 lectures (Fresco, personal communication, October 10, 2024) , Nutella mirrors marketing strategies used by other industries like Playboy, to define what its ideal consumer base should look like. Through slogans like "What Will You Nutella?", a playful and creative tagline, the brand encourages consumers to explore the product’s versatility. This clever approach encourages consumers to experiment, embedding the brand into diverse recipes and daily routines. Through this strategy, Nutella not only expands its market reach but also manufactures desire.
Freedom and Fashion in Cannabis Advertising
Asquith’s analysis also highlights how the industry cleverly employs commodity fetishism to appeal to Millennials and Gen Z by aligning with their values and interests. These advertisements frame cannabis as a symbol of freedom, happiness, and fashion, skillfully obscuring the labor and production processes behind the product. By forging an emotional connection between consumption and ideas of comfort and liberation, these campaigns portray cannabis as a lifestyle choice rather than just a product.
The ads often rely on visually striking elements, such as moody lighting and curated backdrops to exude mystery, sensuality, and modern sophistication. This combination of allure and subtle sexualization positions cannabis as a stylish and desirable item. However, as Goldman (1992) warned, this kind of marketing erases the identities and struggles of the laborers behind the product, replacing them with symbols of consumer identity. Instead of questioning who grows or distributes the cannabis, consumers are led to believe that purchasing it reinforces their personal values and projects their identity to others.
Critiques have pointed out the flaws in this approach, noting that such marketing strategies, which is much like greenwashing and woke capitalism discussed in lectures are performative rather than transformative. While these ads suggest connections to social justice or sustainability, their real goal is to drive profits and attract young consumers. In doing so, they encourage people to equate consumption with activism, perpetuating the cycle of consumerism while avoiding the systemic changes necessary for genuine progress.
Just like greenwashing and woke capitalism that mentioned in lecture (Fresco, personal communication, October 31, 2024), cannabis advertising sells an idea of freedom and style that's more about marketing than meaningful change. These campaigns transform meaningful societal concerns into consumable narratives designed primarily to drive sales. By presenting consumption as a form of activism, brands create an illusion of progressive engagement while effectively neutralizing genuine systemic critique. Consumers are seduced into believing that their purchasing choices constitute meaningful change, when in reality, they're merely participating in a sophisticated marketing strategy that commodifies social movements. This approach ultimately deflects attention from the substantive structural reforms necessary to address underlying social and environmental challenges.
A Symbol of Family Happiness
In the world of misleading food advertising, the tactic of commodity fetishism is widely employed, and Nutella’s marketing strategy is an example of this approach. Unlike cannabis ads targeting younger audiences, Nutella’s campaigns are specifically aimed at middle-aged parents, particularly mothers, and emphasize distinct values to resonate with this demographic.
Through these carefully curated visuals, Nutella’s advertisements portray the product as both healthy and universally adored by children, crafting an image of the ideal family breakfast. Nutella whispers a tantalizing promise: that a simple spread can mend frayed family edges, transforming chaotic mornings into moments of warmth and connection. This indirect messaging fosters the perception that Nutella is more than just a food product: it becomes a symbol of family togetherness and emotional connection.
Interestingly, Nutella's marketing adapts to regional variations, tailoring its campaigns to align with local values. In Italy, Nutella's home country, advertisements often emphasize tradition and family values. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the focus shifts to themes of fun, creativity, and individual enjoyment, appealing to a broader audience by highlighting the product’s versatility.
In the world of marketing, ideals are nothing more than malleable clay in the hands of PR architects. These brand storytellers don't discover value, they manufacture it, reshaping narratives to match whatever demographic desires currently pulse through the market. Today's cannabis might one day become a symbol of familial harmony and togetherness, while Nutella could shift from a beloved family breakfast staple to an emblem of fashion and liberation.
Gender and the Influence of Misleading Advertising
Gender has long been a powerful tool in advertising, shaping how products are marketed and influencing societal perceptions of gender roles. Misleading advertisements often assign values to products that extend far beyond their practical purposes, relying on gendered narratives to resonate with specific audiences and perpetuate stereotypes.
Tobacco advertising provides a striking example of this phenomenon. They portrayed smoking as an expression of male strength and independence, while simultaneously crafting a narrative that linked cigarettes to female empowerment and sophistication. This carefully crafted messaging fundamentally shaped how society viewed gender identity. The impact was particularly notable among women: their smoking rates rose dramatically, and by the 1970s had nearly caught up to men's, demonstrating the effectiveness of these campaigns in reshaping behavior (Robinson, 2021). More than half a century later, Cannabis marketing still perpetuates this trend.
As discussed in the week 1 lecture, the practice of gender targeted advertising traces back to the Victorian era (Fresco, personal communication, September 5, 2024. In the 19th century, soap advertisements assumed their audience was heterosexual women, portraying soap as not only a cleaning agent but also a tool for maintaining domestic harmony and personal virtue. This gendered marketing approach persists today, as seen in Nutella's advertising playbook. Their commercials consistently feature mothers orchestrating perfect breakfast moments, reinforcing the notion that women bear primary responsibility for family care. By portraying Nutella as a cornerstone of happy family life, these ads reinforce traditional gender roles and heteronormative values.
In the end, misleading advertisements continue to promote narrow, gendered perceptions of both products and societal roles. By assuming heteronormative perspectives, they overlook and marginalize diverse identities and family structures. This quiet reinforcement of traditional norms restricts cultural narratives and helps sustain outdated stereotypes within contemporary advertising.
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