Consuming Crisis: Commodifying Care and COVID-19

Consuming Crisis explores how consumer culture capitalized on Coronavirus (COVID-19) by examining how brands claim to care while encouraging people to 'keep calm and consume.' It critically analyzes the power and politics of marketing, outlining the societal significance of fast-fashion adverts, banana bread pandemic 'moments,' university social media strategies, and how digital technology mediates memories and work.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 160 pages
Publication date: 17 November 2022
Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd

Consuming Crisis is a groundbreaking account of how consumer culture capitalized on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In this critical analysis, Francesca Sobande delves into the intricate dynamics between brands and their marketing strategies, examining how they claim to care while simultaneously encouraging people to engage in consumerism. Sobande's comprehensive study explores a diverse range of campaigns, content, and experiences, providing a deep understanding of the power and politics of marketing. Through this critical lens, she uncovers the societal significance of fast-fashion advertisements, the pandemic's impact on banana bread consumption, university social media strategies, and the role of digital technology in mediating memories and work. Sobande challenges the notion that brands can solely be activists and instead offers innovative insights into how they construct care, camaraderie, culture, and the notion of "normal life" during times of crisis.

Francesca Sobande, a Senior Lecturer in Digital Media Studies at Cardiff University, has authored a seminal work titled Consuming Crisis. This comprehensive analysis explores the profound ways in which consumer culture exploited the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Sobande meticulously examines how brands purportedly demonstrate care while simultaneously promoting the urge to consume. Through a rigorous critical examination of a diverse array of marketing campaigns, content, and experiences, Sobande sheds light on the power and politics inherent in marketing practices. This insightful study uncovers the societal significance of fast-fashion advertisements, the phenomenon of banana bread consumption during the pandemic, university social media strategies, and the role of digital technology in shaping memories and work. Sobande challenges the conventional notion that brands can solely function as activists and presents innovative perspectives on how they construct care, foster camaraderie, shape culture, and recreate the concept of "normal life" amidst crises.

Weight: 158g
Dimension: 124 x 175 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781529793963