Commodity Fetishism

The term commodity fetishism means that the production of the product is being emptied instead of it's abstract meaning. A good example of this is a well-known fashion company name Guess. Guess is a high end company that deals with fashion and accessories. The commodity would be the fashion(clothes,hats, and shoes) and the accessories(wallet,belts,and purses). The emptied meaning of this production would be how the fashion and accessories were made, was it made in a safe work environment, and how the products was shipped and packaged? The filling of this meaning would be the name Guess itself. Due to the popularity and prestige of this company people have a huge tendency to not even think about the empty meaning of these products.

The relationship of branding had change dramatically over the years. The start of the eighteenth and nineteenth century focus more on naming the products that they sold so it could appeal to consumers more. In 1886, the painter name John Everett made the connection with art and advertisement by painting a child blowing bubbles in a Pear Soap's ad. That ad help generate the product popularity and consumer interest. In today's advertisement market they focus more musicians,photographers, and illustrators in order to promote their product. Branding of today is a combination of naming,marketing,and cultural circulation. These are key factors to increase consumer interest in that particular product.

Metacommunication is when the ad speaks to the viewer about the processing of viewing the add. This type of advertisement allows advertisers to address consumers in a new way. There has been trend of "green" marketing going on these past few years. Advertisers take advantage of this trend by marketing the word "green" on many products. You also have to be aware of commodity fetishism dealing with "green" products. Some products that are advertise might not have any environmental benefits with the "green" movement.