Raising the dead: on brands that go bump in the night

Brown, Stephen, Patterson, Anthony and Ashman, Rachel ORCID: 0000-0002-5579-6304 (2021) Raising the dead: on brands that go bump in the night JOURNAL OF MARKETING MANAGEMENT, 37 (5-6). pp. 417-436. ISSN 0267-257X, 1472-1376

Text Raising the Dead-2.docx - Author Accepted Manuscript Download (73kB)

Abstract

Many brands have been obliterated by the ‘death of the high street’ and many more have had near-death experiences. This paper applies Derrida’s ‘hauntology’ to Hollister, a high-flying fashion brand that fell from grace. Although it remains in the land of the living, selling impossible dreams of So-Cal’s beachside lifestyle, Hollister is a ghost of its former self. An interpretive empirical investigation reveals that the brand’s hauntology comprises four phantomic components: mortality, anxiety, liminality and retroactivity. A spectral ‘model’ of bump-in-the-night brands also makes its presence felt. At a time when the spectre of pandemic is stalking retail branding, this paper considers Derrida’s incongruous, possibly prescient, claim that ‘the future belongs to ghosts’. With the aid of interpretive empirical research, we investigate this haunting hypothesis. And although the findings don’t confirm Derrida’s contention that the dead can often be more powerful than the living, they show how the spectral side of branding gives ghosts a chance to shine.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Ghost brands, hauntology, Hollister, introspection, literary criticism
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	23 Jul 2020 09:39
Last Modified:	16 Jun 2026 11:55
DOI:	10.1080/0267257X.2020.1839121
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3094988
Disclaimer:	The University of Liverpool is not responsible for content contained on other websites from links within repository metadata. Please contact us if you notice anything that appears incorrect or inappropriate.