The Consumers Fetish for the Swoosh
Consumers around the world have been captivated by Nikes trademark “swoosh”, and even though the malpractices of Nike are widely discussed and taught, consumers still flock to “just do it” and by the newest pair of Nike runners. While viewing Nikes commercial “Find Your Fast”, Marx’s theoretical concept of commodity fetishism can be seen through the use of the commodification and fetishism of celebrity athletes to distract consumers from the reality of the company’s unpleasant truth.
In “Find Your Fast” 13 professional athletes are shown to be playing their sport at high speed and high intensity. These athletes are all filmed strategically to show their muscles, toned bodies, their skill at their sport, and …show more content…
Fetishism is formed for the consumers through the commodification of the athletes when the commodity is given an intrinsic value based on the athlete’s commodification of Nikes. This fetishism causes a disconnect between the producers of the commodity and the object as symbolic codes such as the Nike swoosh [Collins, 2001], as well as the beautiful athletes that are the face of Nike to the consumers rather than the faces of the underpaid women working in sweatshops in third world …show more content…
“Hence, however beautiful the commodity, however fashionable or innovative, there is an estrangement between the producers of the commodity (labourers) and consumers. That is, once put together as a commodity, a product—such as a Nike runner—is outside the will, foresight and action of the individual. It is in the context of this understanding that Marx discusses’ commodity fetishism” (Böhm and Batta, 2010). The social labour that is being produced by extremely underpaid workers that goes into creating a product, like Nike runners, is objectified as a commodity exchange by a disguise that is created through athletes in Nike’s branding such as the ones viewed in “Find Your Fast”. When we enter a shoe store to buy a new pair of Nike’s, our mind automatically drifts to the faces of all the athletes that brand the company, such as Kobe Bryan and Serena Williams, and we see the shoes as a commodity rather than a product of labour. Our minds will hardly ever drift to the women working in the factories in Asia; this is where Marx’s commodity fetishism can best be observed in our modern
Consumers around the world have been captivated by Nikes trademark “swoosh”, and even though the malpractices of Nike are widely discussed and taught, consumers still flock to “just do it” and by the newest pair of Nike runners. While viewing Nikes commercial “Find Your Fast”, Marx’s theoretical concept of commodity fetishism can be seen through the use of the commodification and fetishism of celebrity athletes to distract consumers from the reality of the company’s unpleasant truth.
In “Find Your Fast” 13 professional athletes are shown to be playing their sport at high speed and high intensity. These athletes are all filmed strategically to show their muscles, toned bodies, their skill at their sport, and …show more content…
Fetishism is formed for the consumers through the commodification of the athletes when the commodity is given an intrinsic value based on the athlete’s commodification of Nikes. This fetishism causes a disconnect between the producers of the commodity and the object as symbolic codes such as the Nike swoosh [Collins, 2001], as well as the beautiful athletes that are the face of Nike to the consumers rather than the faces of the underpaid women working in sweatshops in third world …show more content…
“Hence, however beautiful the commodity, however fashionable or innovative, there is an estrangement between the producers of the commodity (labourers) and consumers. That is, once put together as a commodity, a product—such as a Nike runner—is outside the will, foresight and action of the individual. It is in the context of this understanding that Marx discusses’ commodity fetishism” (Böhm and Batta, 2010). The social labour that is being produced by extremely underpaid workers that goes into creating a product, like Nike runners, is objectified as a commodity exchange by a disguise that is created through athletes in Nike’s branding such as the ones viewed in “Find Your Fast”. When we enter a shoe store to buy a new pair of Nike’s, our mind automatically drifts to the faces of all the athletes that brand the company, such as Kobe Bryan and Serena Williams, and we see the shoes as a commodity rather than a product of labour. Our minds will hardly ever drift to the women working in the factories in Asia; this is where Marx’s commodity fetishism can best be observed in our modern