Are brands the new religion?

Weather we realise it or not, we are always being marketed to in some way or another. Marketing usually involves making promises that the product will in some way better the consumers life, and judging by nearly everything we own being plastered in some kind of branding, we believe these promises.

It wasn't until a recent lecture that outlined the 'rituals' of marketing, that i really started to think about our relationships to brands, and how similar it can be to a religion. The four rituals include; exchange (offering a feeling of community, sharing and gift giving), divestment(the feeling of being cleansed when giving things away, and the product being part of our identity), possession(enabling consumer to take ownership of the product making it more personal and decomdifies it), and grooming (the meaningful properties of the product will give customer a higher purpose-confidence, power, happiness)

 

Not only does the word rituals imply religion, but so does a lot of what the rituals seem to offer, or claim to offer, the consumer. As humans i think we naturally crave happiness, a sense of fulfillment, a reason to do good and feel good, and a feeling of progression. These feelings used to be fulfilled mainly through religion for many people, however in a world where religion is very much dying out, but where we sill yearn for the same things, it isn't hard to understand why brands would jump on this and use this as a marketing opportunity.

I do believe that brands have successfully managed to use some of the the reasons people may have previously turned to religion as a way of gaining customers, and we do in some ways worship brands, maybe without even realising it. Apple technology is a great example of how ingrained some brands can be in our lives.

People line up to receive the products, and constantly aim and feel the need to progress to the next stage of the products. Much like believers in religion, apple users are loyal to the brand and seem to stick by it no matter the ridicule. Steve jobs is definitely seen as an icon and some would argue 'worshiped' and quoted by apple lovers, known for speaking about ethic of change and devotion in relation to the products.

"There is proof that Apple may be more connected to religion. A study of brain patterns demonstrated that for users Apple products trigger the same parts of the brain as religious imagery for individuals of faith. Anthropologists have also said the construction of Apple stores has a lot in common with churches: the austerity, the lifting of products, the almost angelic lighting, and even the sacred logo."

 https://www.worldreligionnews.com/?p=44852