How to put the “life” back in life style?
It’s been decades since actor, later president, Ronald Reagan appeared in ads for cigarettes or Spike Lee made his first commercial for sneakers. Then Trump went from The Apprentice to Presidency… More recently; A big Swedish airline released an advertising film which is a typical example of symbolic “double-communication”, a presentation of a so-called “modern lifestyle” with aesthetics from the film / music video world. We’re so used to it, that we almost don’t think about it anymore (hyperreality to use Baudrillard's word). The very urgent changes the company can and has the power to do is put aside, when the communication tells a story about something else, somewhere else, with the purpose to position the brand with the “good guys” in that “debate” - resulting in a film, with a hope that other people will change. If the decision is consciously or unconsciously taken is not the main issue of discussion. The big problem is that the needed development connected to the crisis of the ecology, turning into social injustice, doesn't happen as fast as it could.
Pop Culture can, in parts, be seen as cultivation of false psychological needs that can only be satisfied by the purchasing of products (Lifestyle consumption / Culture industry etc) . But it’s also a seedbed for development through participatory culture, new communities created around new manners and identity cursors. But what’s what and how do we make something sustainable in the long run?
My own years in the intersection between industry and culture, marketing, brand strategy, branded content / branded entertainment have been complex and instructive. Sometimes feeling a vivid frustration over being viewed as some attracting cosmetics in the end of a sales process, rather than valuing the understanding of the culture, the (human) needs and the pop cultural ecology. Other times frustration over not being sure if the work mattered - or even worse; prevented progression.
Now the path is clearer, whether it's about work of innovation or solutions for the eco crisis, we have to change “the given basis”, use trust- and self organising structures, co-creation and deep listening. And also grasp what culture internet’s moss-like rhizomatic structure produces, plus cultivate the awareness to see the mechanism of change in one’s own manners, whether it’s concerning development in a company, an individual or a system.
What is the next step in our present to produce results that works for the whole planet, and why is Teal-organizations better suited for the future? #marketing #lifestyle #Teal #TheoryU #Hyperreality #TealOrganizations
