Review

Reviewed Work(s): All Consuming Images: The Politics of Style in Contemporary Culture
by Stuart Ewen
Review by: William P. Hetrick
Source: Journal of Marketing, Vol. 55, No. 3 (Jul., 1991), pp. 88-90
Published by: American Marketing Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1252153
Accessed: 29-03-2018 15:39 UTC

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consumers.
consumers.Moreover,
Moreover,savvy
savvyconsumers
consumers cancan
band band
together
together
to to views
viewsare
are
offered
offered
on such
on such
topics topics
as the arguments
as the arguments
for and against
for and a
exert
exert pressure
pressureononbusinesses,
businesses,
boycotting
boycottingthethe
offerings
offerings
of com-
of com- laissez-faire
laissez-faire capitalism
capitalism(Chapter(Chapter
1), the role
1), the
of consumer
role of sov-consume
panies
panies they
theyfeel
feelhave
havebeen
been
employing
employing abusive
abusive
or unethical
or unethical
be- be- ereignty
ereignty in in
capitalist
capitalist
markets markets
(Chapter (Chapter
1), theories
1),oftheories
how to of h
haviors.
haviors. Indeed,
Indeed,the
theconsumer
consumer boycott
boycott
(or (or
thethe
threat
threat
of it)
ofhas
it) has provide
provide social
social control
control
of business
of business
(Chapters (Chapters
2 and 3), the2 andar- 3), t
the
the potential
potentialtotobebea amore
moreefficient
efficient
andand
effective
effective
mechanism
mechanism guments
guments for forandandagainst
against
demonstrations
demonstrationsof corporateof social
corporate
re- soc
for
for controlling
controllingthethebehavior
behaviorof of
business
businessthanthan
the the
mechanism'
mechanism' sponsibility
sponsibility (Chapter
(Chapter2), the2),role
the ofrole
pressure
of pressure
groups in thegroups
po- in th
of
of overt
overt government
governmentregulation.
regulation. litical
liticalprocess
process (Chapter
(Chapter4), and4),theand history
the of history
the boycott
of the tactic
boycott
Given
Given the
thepotential
potentialfor
forconsumer
consumer
boycotts
boycotts
to serve
to serve
as a as a in
in nonconsumer
nonconsumer contexts
contexts
(Chapter (Chapter
5). 5).
mechanism
mechanismfor
forlimiting
limiting
the
the
need
need
forfor
government
government
regulation
regulation
of of As
Asititisis written,
written, the book
the bookwill probably
will probably
be of greater
be of in-greate
business
business in inthe
theUnited
UnitedStates,
States,Eastern
Eastern Europe,
Europe,and and
elsewhere,
elsewhere, terest
teresttoto scholars
scholars in thein"business
the "businessand society"and field
society"
than to field th
a careful
careful assessment
assessmentbyby a business
a business scholar
scholar
of what
of whathas been
has been those
thoseinin marketing.
marketing. The former
The former are likely areto likely
be moreto com-
be more
accomplished
accomplishedby byprevious
previous boycotts
boycotts could
could
provide
provideconsiderable
considerable fortable
fortable withwith Smith's
Smith'sphilosophical
philosophicaldiscussions discussions
about con- about
guidance
guidance to topublic
publicpolicy
policy makers.
makers. Professor
Professor CraigCraig
SmithSmith
has has sumer
sumersovereignty
sovereignty and social
and social
controlcontrol
of business.of Scholars
business. in Schol
admirably
admirablysoughtsoughttotoprovide
provide such
suchan an
assessment.
assessment. He hasHe com-
has com- the
themarketing
marketing fieldfield
are moreare more
likely to likely
be interested
to be interested
in such in
pleted
pleted case
casestudies
studiesofoffive
fivesignificant
significant consumer
consumer boycotts
boycotts
in thein the issues
issuesasas why why individual
individual consumersconsumers
join and join
sustainandpartici-
sustain par
hope
hope of of extracting
extractingprinciples
principles andandconclusions
conclusions aboutabout
boycotts
boycotts pation
pationinin boycotts,
boycotts, aboutabout
which whichthe book the
has book
relatively
has little
relatively
and
and their
theirvalue
valueasasa amechanism
mechanism forforregulating
regulatingbusiness
business
behav-
behav- to
to say.
say.Marketing
Marketing practitioners
practitioners may find maythe find
book oftheinterest
book of int
iors.
iors. He
He eventually
eventuallyconcludes
concludes that
thatconsumer
consumer boycotts,
boycotts,
as a as
forma form for
foritsitsdiscussion
discussion of howof management
how management should respond
should to respond
boy- to
of
of "ethical
"ethicalpurchase
purchasebphavior,"
bphavior," cancanprovide
providesome some
"social
"social
con- con- cotts,
cotts,but but thethe treatment
treatment of that ofsubject
that would
subject be more
would con-be more
trol
trol ofof business."
business."He Hestresses
stresses that
thata boycott
a boycott can can
be successful
be successful vincing
vincing with
with more more
material
material
from actualfromcase actual
studies.
case studies.
even
even though
thoughitithas hasnotnotbeen
been effective
effective in changing
in changing consumer
consumer Smith
Smithdeserves
deserves credit
credit
for pointing
for pointing
to the consumer
to the consumer
boycott bo
behavior,
behavior,because
becausecorporations
corporations react
react to the
to thesymbolic
symbolic act ofact of as
as aapotentially
potentially important
important force in force
helpingin markets
helpingtomarkets
regulate to re
being
being boycotted.
boycotted. themselves
themselves in the
in thefuture.
future.
However, However,
a more extensive
a more andextensive
richer and
Smith's
Smith's findings
findingsand andconclusions
conclusions areare
clearly
clearly
worthy
worthyof note
of note discussion
discussion of of specific
specific
cases,cases,
and less andemphasis
less emphasis
on reviewing on revi
by
by public
publicpolicy
policymakers
makers andandothers
others interested
interestedin determining
in determining previous
previous literature,
literature, would would
create create
a much a more
muchentertaining
more entertainin
and
the
the extent
extentto towhich
whichgovernment
government should
shouldregulate
regulate
business.
business.
Fur- Fur- persuasive
persuasive book.book.
thermore,
thermore,Smith Smithdeserves
deserves credit
creditforfordemonstrating
demonstrating thatthat
he has
he has
PAUL N. BLOOM
a dazzling
dazzlingcommand
commandofofthe thehistory
history of of
previous
previousboycotts
boycotts
of allof all
types,
types, as
as well
wellasasofofthe
thehistory
history
of of
political
political
andand
economic
economic
thought.
thought. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hi
He
He also
also shows
showsa agood
goodgrasp
grasponon thethe
limited
limited
workworkthatthat
has been
has been
done
done onon "ethical
"ethicalpurchase
purchasebehavior"
behavior" (which
(which
would
would
include
include
such such
topics
topics as
as "socially-responsible
"socially-responsible consumption")
consumption") in the
in the
marketing
marketing
and
and consumer
consumerbehavior
behaviorliterature.
literature. However,
However,in the
in the
process
process
of of
demonstrating
demonstratingthat thathehehas
hasallall
that
that
knowledge,
knowledge,SmithSmith
has writ-
has writ- All Consuming Images-The Politics of Styl
ten
ten aa book
bookthat
thatis,is,frankly,
frankly, very
verydifficult
difficult
andand
taxing
taxing
to read.
to read. Contemporary Culture
In
In some
some ways,
ways,ititreminded
reminded thisthis
reviewer
reviewerof the
of the
experience
experience
of of
reading
reading doctoral
doctoralcomprehensive
comprehensive examinations,
examinations, wherewhere
students
students
By Stuart Ewen (New York: Basic Books, I
try
try to
to cram
cramininreferences
referencesto to
just
just
about
about
everything
everythingand and
anything
anything 1988, 306 pages, $10.95 paper)
they
they have
haveever
everread
readthat
that
could
could possibly
possibly
be related
be related
to the
to subject
the subject
of
of each
each question.
question.
Though
Though Smith
Smithcontinually
continually tantalizes
tantalizesthethe
reader
reader
in his
in pref-
his pref- In the contemporary world, where the mass media serve
ace,
ace, introduction,
introduction,andandfirst
first
fewfewchapters
chapterswith
with
howhow
he ishe
going
is going as increasingly powerful arbiters of reality, the pri-
to
to show
show what
whatconsumer
consumer boycotts
boycotts havehave
really
really
accomplished,
accomplished,
the the macy of style over substance has become the nor-
first
first case
casestudy
studyisisnot
notpresented
presented until
until
page
page
234 234
of the
of the
295-page
295-page
mative consciousness [p. 2].
book.
book. Smith
Smiththen
thenusesusesonly
only1818pages
pages
to explain
to explain
the the
stories
stories
of of The preceding citation is thematic and representative of
the
the following
followingboycotts:
boycotts: Ewen's overall indictment of American consumer cultu
* Of
Of Barclays
BarclaysBank
Bankoveroveritsits
links
links
with
with
South
South
Africa.
Africa. Within the deeply historical pages of All Consuming Im
* Of Tarmac and MAN-VW over their involvement with one can learn of the separation of form from content
cruise missile contracts. advanced capitalist conditions. Images and style have ass
priority over substance, as can be observed in everything
* Of Douwe Egberts over its processing of Angola coffee. consumer products and fashion to architecture and politic
* Of Nestle over its marketing of infant formula in the human consequences have been substantial and include
Third World. ation, disappearing bodies/lost subjectivity, conspicuous
* Of California grapes over farm worker unionization. sumption, and vast excesses of overconsumption resulti
waste and pollution.
These studies are presented in very little detail, and the ab- The various social relationships within moder cultur
sence of much coverage of the strategies and tactics of the be subsumed under the tyranny of the commodity appa
boycotting pressure groups is especially noticeable. The re- and its corresponding image-management system. The ma
mainder of the book then presents some general insights and ulation of style is not an end in itself, but is used to insid
conclusions (and more conclusions) stemming from these stud- perpetuate the current modes of production and consump
ies.
Ewen's contention that there is an historical cc lnectio
What precedes these much too quickly presented case stud- tween the rise of industrial capitalism and the mass appea
ies is a series of cumbersome literature reviews on several rel- exploitation of style is explicit. The role of the mass m
evant but overworked topics. Additionally, there are a series (of which the marketing media are a central component)
of summaries of these reviews, and summaries of the sum- one of simply reflecting social reality, but of actually cr
maries of the reviews, and still more summaries farther on in
it. This reviewer has no reservations about any of Ewen
the book, that use up much more space than is necessary. Re- jor observations. The appraisal therefore addresses the a

88 / Journal of Marketing, July 1991

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priateness of his version of critical thought and its explanatory is characteristic of the postmoder mood. Ewen has not situ-
power. ated his work as a postmodern social commentary, though per-
Ewen, a communications professor, draws upon a very broad haps he should have. For example, one could employ a strictly
and divergent body of critical theoretical literature in an effort
Baudrillardian perspective, arguing that what has happened is
to support his claims (e.g., Foucault, Barthes, Marcuse, Brav- not the separation but the implosion of representation and real-
erman, and Jencks). He clearly operates within a different re- ity. Baudrillard's "hyperreality" of simulations is character-
search tradition (perhaps on the far fringes of Amdt's "liber- ized by the substitution of images, commodity signs, and me-
ating" paradigm) than do contemporary marketing academicians. dia spectacles for what was once traditional political economy.
His onto-epistemological assumptions and conceptions of ra- Dedifferentiation seems to make more conceptual sense than
tionality are diametrically opposed to those of the discipline does a mere separation of social phenomena. The boundaries
of marketing. There is, however, some common ground for between reality and appearance have simply collapsed.
mutual discursive activity given the superb and truly criticalWithin either Ewen's or Baudrillard's framework, the so-
essays of Firat, Benton, Sherry, Moorman, Kilbourne, and cial appears to have come to an end epitomized by the sub-
Mokwa, all found in Philosophical and Radical Thought institution of a "dehistoricized image-system for actual historical
Marketing (Firat, Dholakia, and Bagozzi 1987). Within thiscontexts" (Kroker and Cook 1988, p. 275). According to the
critique-oriented tradition, All Consuming Images is highly rel-
writings of Baudrillard (1988), the social has imploded into
evant for marketing academicians and practitioners because theof silent majority of the apathetic masses. Ewen himself sug-
their alleged role as purveyors of style management and im- gests that democratic choices on economic and political issues
agistic techniques: have become indistinguishable from grocery shopping activity
for the majority of consumers. There are no longer any real
In advertising, packaging, product design, and cor- differences among products, regardless of whether we are re-
porate identity, the power of provocative surfaces speaks ferring to dog food or presidential candidates. Choice, if such
to the eye's mind, overshadowing matters of quality
a notion is even possible, depends entirely on which product
or substance. Style, moreover, is an intimate com- is marketed and advertised the best. In his PBS interview with
ponent of subjectivity, intertwined with people's as-
pirations and anxieties [p. 22]. Bill Moyers (1989), Ewen argued that the concept of the "con-
sumer" has replaced that of the "citizen." Panic or hypercon-
sumption has become the norm in consumer society. The pub-
Passages such as this encourage one to be reflective about mar-
lic sphere has been superseded by the shopping mall and various
keting and advertising endeavors that attempt to go far beyond
information transfer and into the realm of image creation andDisneyesque distractions. Department stores and supermarkets
manipulation. A basic contradiction of marketing under capi- have become the "cemeteries of culture" (Huyssen 1986).
talist conditions is neatly and probably unwittingly composed Why Ewen chose not to incorporate the vast writings of the
in the preceding quotation. On the one side, commodities mustpostmodern social theorists is difficult to understand in light
be mass produced, mass marketed, and mass consumed for the of their current academic popularity and obvious applicability.
advancement of capitalist relations. On the other side, con- Their arguments seem to be entirely consistent, though Ewen
is less extreme and ultimately less seductive. Ewen lacks the
sumers must be led to believe that their quest for individuality
critical acuteness of a Baudrillard or a Kroker and allows him-
can be satisfied after their participation in consumptive activ-
ity. The masking of this contradiction can be facilitated,self
in to fall into a theoretical middle ground, unable to utilize
fully either a version of neo-Marxism or the truly crucial ele-
part, through constant changes in style and the perceptions
thereof. ments of the postmodernist discourse. At least among the more
The whole basis of product obsolescence can be concep- extreme theorists of the postmoder scene, the central argu-
tualized within Ewen's framework. The perpetuation of planned ment revolves around once and for all breaking with the un-
obsolescence is inherently systemic to the capitalist consump- fulfilled promises of the Enlightenment and modernity. Ewen,
tion sphere and not merely an aberration or a deviation. The however, still clings to the notion that true meaning is some-
capacity to satisfy and dissatisfy the consumer systematically how ideologically distorted through imagery. He is unable to
has been a mainstay of capitalist accumulation for decades. grasp that the image is the real, or that perhaps there is simply
The major difference, however, is that perhaps in the 1990s nothing to be ideological or meaningful about.
what we are producing and marketing is not products and com- As is characteristic of postmoder analysis (see Lyotard
modities per se, but images and form. This observation is con- 1984), Ewen throughout All Consuming Images admirably
sistent with Huyssen's (1986, p. 21) contention that "the com- avoids the grand narrative and apparently dismisses any notion
modity itself has become image, representation, spectacle." of the collective subject. Unfortunately, at the very end of the
The traditional Marxian notion of the fetishism of commodities book (p. 271), he insists that
has been replaced by Baudrillard's fetishism of the sign. If
. . the dominance of surface over substance must
Ewen is correct in asserting that corporate enterprises have truly
substituted style for substance, marketing consequently is a be overcome. There must be a reconciliation of image
postmoder activity that incessantly stresses the so-called in-
and meaning, a reinvigoration of a politics of sub-
stance.
tangible elements (i.e., style) over the substantive aspects of
function or use value. Ewen's current work therefore serves This type of language sounds like basic radical rhetori
as a timely prelude to the postmodernism debate that is raging in some frantic attempt to resurrect a Marxist-type mode
in the other social science disciplines. is going to dismantle the "style industries" in the abse
Though All Consuming Images can be read from most neo- a revolutionary subject? More important, who or what is
leftist perspectives (e.g., red, green, or feminist), the post- resisted, assuming resistance is even possible? Ewen con
modem version seems to be most appropriate. Within this all along that images, form, and style are all-pervasive
interpretation of the human predicament, American society is nomena. Sign value has replaced not only use value, bu
considered to be well into a transitional stage of economic and exchange value. Form does not follow value, power, and
political development that is commonly referred to as "late as is his argument (see Chapters 8, 9, and 10), but for
capitalism," "informational society," or "consumer society" value, power, and waste. Ewen does not recognize this
(Jameson 1984). The primacy of consumption over production nor does he realize that the proliferation of the media an

Book Reviews / 89

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formation
formationhas hasled
ledtotoBaudrillard's
Baudrillard'ssilent
silent
majorities.
majorities.
The The
mediamedia Philosophical
Philosophical and
andRadical
Radical
Thought
Thoughtin Marketing.
in Marketing.
Lexing-Lexing-
and
and advertising
advertisingdodonotnotmirror
mirrorsociety,
society,
butbut
society
society
mirrors
mirrors
the the ton,
ton, MA:
MA:Lexington
Lexington Books.
Books.
mediascape
mediascapeand anditsitshighly
highlyconsumptive
consumptive value
value
structure (see (see Huyssen,
structure Huyssen,Andreas
Andreas (1986),
(1986),
After
After
the Great
the Great
Divide:Divide:
Modernism,
Modernism
Kroker
Kroker andandCook
Cook1988).
1988).
Any
Any notion
notionof of
collective
collective
autonomy
autonomy Mass
Mass Culture,
Culture,Postmodernism.
Postmodernism. Bloomington
Bloomingtonand Indian-
and Indian-
or
or praxis
praxistherefore
thereforeisisdifficult
difficult
to to
imagine
imagine
given
given
postmodem
postmodem apolis:
apolis:Indiana
IndianaUniversity
UniversityPress.
Press.
social conditions. Jameson,
Jameson,Fredric
Fredric(1984),
(1984),
"Postmoderism,
"Postmoderism, or theor
Cultural
the Cultural
Logic Logic
Stuart Ewen has given us a broadly based, historical piece of of Late
LateCapitalism,"
Capitalism," NewNew
LeftLeft
Review,
Review,
53-92.53-92.
of work that is conceptually eclectic and replete with empirical Kroker,
Kroker,Arthur
Arthurandand
David
David
Cook
Cook
(1988),
(1988),
The Postmodern
The Postmodern
Scene, Scene,
examples. His vacillation between social theoretical positions 2nd ed. London: Macmillan Education Ltd.
and his neglect of some useful literature should not be viewed Lyotard, Jean-Francois (1984), The Postmodern Condition.
as deterrents to reading and working with this book. Ewen Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
alerts us to an adverse social situation in which the majority Moyers, Bill (1989), "Consuming Images," in The Public Mind
of us are complicit in our own degradation (e.g., the immense New York: Journal Graphics, Inc.
popularity of the otherwise banal Miami Vice, or the spectacle
allurement and triteness of MTV). All Consuming Images is
timely, fairly accessible, and extremely important. Academi-
cians, marketing or otherwise, who are attempting to inform FORTHCOMING BOOK REVIEWS
others about the societal proliferation of images over substance
will find this book indispensable as a research or teaching sup- 1. O'Neal, Charles and Kate Bertrand (1991), Devel
plement. J.I.T. Marketing Strategy: The Industrial Marketer
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 224 pp
WILLIAM P. HETRICK
Reviewed by David Wilson (Pennsylvania State U
Loyola Marymount University
sity).
2. Porter, Michael (1990), The Competitive Advantage of Na-
REFERENCES tions. New York: The Free Press, 855 pp., $35.00. Re-
viewed by Terry Clark (University of Notre Dame).
Arndt, Johan (1985), "On Making Marketing Science
3. Richard, More
J. Schonberger (1990), Building a Chain of Cus-
Scientific: Role of Orientations, Paradigms, Metaphors, and Business Functions to Create a World Class
tomers: Linking
Puzzle Solving," Journal of Marketing, 49 (Summer),
Company. 11-
New York: The Free Press, 349 pp. $29.95. Re-
23.
viewed by Victoria Crittenden (Boston College).
Baudrillard, Jean (1988), Selected Writings, edited and intro-
duced by Mark Poster. Stanford, CA: Stanford University
Press.
Firat, A. F., N. Dholakia, and R. P. Bagozzi, eds. (1987), Reprint No. JM553107

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