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The activist brand and the transformational power of resistance: towards a narrative conceptual framework

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Abstract

Brand activism has become a popular term for describing how brands are becoming involved with controversial sociopolitical issues. The activist brand is thus characterised by its engagement with controversy and understood in and through macro-level cultural oppositions which it continuously orbits and positions itself against. The purpose of this paper is to contribute with a conceptual gaze at the activist brand's inherent controversy that enables an understanding of the online micro-level dynamics and processes that transform the online activist brand. Drawing on a narrative approach, the paper develops an ante- and counternarrative framework to explain how these complex micro-level dynamics and processes of resistance transform the brand. The framework allows us to approach the activist brand as the result of a complex network of antenarratives and counternarratives, which the brand flows in and out of, retells, supports, and resists.

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Notes

  1. BBC has reported that the campaign caused numerous complaints among viewers. For instance, the Australian’s industry regulators received more than 600 complaints from viewers who found the campaign inappropriate, which was the highest number for any advertisements in 2019 (BBC, 18.09.2019).

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the reviewers for providing valuable comments and suggestions, which helped us in improving the quality of the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Management, Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Fuglesangs Allé 4, Office D108, 8210, Aarhus V, Denmark

    Sophie Esmann Andersen

  2. School of Communication and Culture, Arts, Aarhus University, Jens Chr. Skous Vej 4, Building 1481, Office 539, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Trine Susanne Johansen

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  1. Sophie Esmann Andersen
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Andersen, S.E., Johansen, T.S. The activist brand and the transformational power of resistance: towards a narrative conceptual framework. J Brand Manag 31, 140–152 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-023-00320-1

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