The Religions of Iconic Brands Apple, Nike, and Disney

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Go Sell It on the Mountain: The Religions of Iconic Brands Apple, Nike, and Disney

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Go Sell It on the Mountain:

The Religions of Iconic Brands Apple, Nike, and Disney

R. Vann Graves

A Thesis in the Field of Visual Arts for the Degree of Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies

Harvard University

March 2014

Abstract

Western popular culture often suffers from a lack of understanding of religious doctrine and tradition. A 2010 U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey conducted by the Pew

Research Center showed that the level of American religious illiteracy is extremely high:

45% of Catholics in the United States do not know that their church teaches that the bread and wine used in Communion do not merely symbolize, but actually become the body and blood of Christ.

53% of Protestants cannot correctly identify Martin Luther as the person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation, which made their religion a separate branch of Christianity.

43% of Jews do not recognize that Maimonides, one of the most venerated rabbis in history, was Jewish.

47% of Americans know that the Dalai Lama is Buddhist.

38% correctly associate Vishnu and Shiva with Hinduism.

27% of Americans correctly answer that most people in Indonesia—the country with the world’s largest Muslim population—are Muslims. (Pew 1)

Some marketers and advertising executives have capitalized on this illiteracy through organizing branding campaigns and strategies based on generic religious components.

This thesis evaluates how some brands, including Apple, Nike, and Disney, have elevated themselves to the status of consumer religions by using familiar religious archetypes, frameworks, and stereotypes. These elements are not only derived from a true theological understanding of religion, but are equally derivative of misrepresentations of religious

iii

traditions. This study explores how accurate and inaccurate assumptions about religion inform marketing and advertising strategies. By relying on widespread illiteracy about religion, brands can imitate only the aspects of religion that best sell their respective products to the widest audience. Apple, Nike, and Disney’s marketing strategies have incorporated the tenets of religion so powerfully that they have set themselves up as virtual religions.

Dedication

I lovingly dedicate this thesis to my best friend and wife, Autumn.

Table of Contents

Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………v

List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………vii

I. Introduction………………………………………………………………………..1

II. Apple ……………………...……………………………………………………..13

Mind = Knowledge = Apple……………………………………………..13

III. Nike………………………………………………………………………………29

Body = Fitness = Nike………………...…………………………………29

IV. Disney……………………………………………………………………………42

Spirit = Uplifting = Disney………………………………………………43

V. Conclusion………………………………………………………………...……..56

Epilogue……………………………………………..………………………………...…58

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………..62

List of Figures

Fig. 1 Steve Jobs. Time Magazine, 2008...... …………………………...………15

Fig. 2 Apple Rainbow Logo………...………………………………………...…16

Fig. 3 Apple Computer Advertisement 1………………………………………..20

Fig. 4 Apple Computer Advertisement 2………………………………………..21

Fig. 5 Christy. Apple Tattoo 1………………..…………………………...…….25

Fig. 6 Nicole. Apple Tattoo 2…………………………..…………………….....26

Fig. 7 NikeTown. New York City…………..…………………………………...36

Fig. 8 Nike Tattoos………………….…………………………………………..40

Fig. 9 Disney Castle. Orlando, Florida……..……….…………………………..46

Fig. 10 Mecca. Hejaz, Saudi Arabia…...………………………………………....47

Fig. 11 Women of the Seraglio……………...……………………………………49

Fig. 12 Disney Princesses..………………………………………………..……..50

Fig. 13 Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Advertisement………...……………………51

Fig. 14 Disney Princess Diamond Engagement Rings……………………...……52

Fig. 15 Annfaye Kao……………….……………………….………………….....53

Fig. 16 Anonymous Disney Follower……………………..……………………...54

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Chapter I

Introduction

Brands are the new religion … They supply our modern metaphysics, imbuing the world with significance … Brands function as complete meaning systems. (Atkin 97)

This thesis explores the intersection of religion and the world of consumerism through the lens of brand building. It examines how these apparently very different traditions intersect in the realms of consumer products, marketing, and branding.

Companies rely heavily on product positioning, marketing strategies, and their sales force to build brand loyalty. A company’s ability to succeed in a given market is inextricably linked to the degrees of confidence and belief that consumers place in its products.

Through the use of market research, focus groups, taste tests, and surveys, companies track the level of “faith” that consumers have in their brands, which provides them with important insights that they can use to improve brand loyalty and success. The strong belief and steadfast loyalty to brands that many consumers demonstrate can be compared to the foundations of religious devotion, thus suggesting that an exploration of the nature of religious faith can offer a powerful roadmap for how branding might evolve in the future. Gavan Fitzsimons, Professor of Marketing and Psychology at Duke University

Fuqua School of Business, notes,

For eons, organized religion has provided a sense of community, has provided a way to say who we are to others, has provided a source of meaning in the world … Brands, as they have evolved, have just moved into that exact same space with those exact same functions. (Hicks 1)

According to Mara Einstein, author of Brands of Faith: Marketing Religion in a

Commercial Age, “Much as religion created meaning for people’s lives over the centuries, now marketers create meaning out of the products that fill our existence. These products come to be not just clothes to wear or cars to drive, but elements of who we are”

(71).

This thesis explores how some companies have successfully elevated their brands to the status of religious icons. It delineates the ways in which corporations employ marketing and branding practices that create ideologies and philosophies that have no actual spiritual, supernatural, or religious components, but that mimic the methods of religious institutions. These practices encourage consumers to function in a manner that psychologically resembles the behavior of religious believers. Einstein also observes that

“The sources of identity formation have changed. Whereas once our family, friends, schools, and religious institutions gave us a basis for understanding who we are and what we value, these groups have been usurped by marketers and mass media.” She adds, “It seems that marketers have learned their craft from religion—turning diehard product users into evangelists” (74–75).

To create a framework for this paper, it is important to establish a working definition of religion. This assumes that a single definition for religion exists and that the definition is universally accepted—neither of which is the case. Understanding religion is a multifaceted and complex endeavor.

According to Emile Durkheim, religion is

A unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden—beliefs and practices

which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them … [Religion is] the self-validation of a society by means of myth and ritual. (46)

Catherine L. Albanese defines religion as “a system of symbols (creed, code, cultus) by means of which people (a community) orient themselves in the world with reference to both ordinary and extraordinary powers, meanings, and values” (9). In

Spiritual Marketplace (1992) Wade Clark Roof states that

“Lived religion” … involves three crucial aspects: scripts, or sets of symbols that imaginatively explain what the world and life are about; practices, or the means whereby individuals relate to and locate themselves within a symbolic frame of reference; and human agency, or the ability of people to actively engage the religious worlds they create. (65)

Lastly, in Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion (2004) American anthropologist Clifford Geertz notes that to understand religion, which, in his view, is a cultural system, intuition is necessary. He asserts that religion and society shape each other. For Geertz, religion is a cultural system that he defines as

(1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic. (90)

From these broad definitions, it can be concluded that, at a minimum, religion is based on faith. It is composed of certain axioms—with respect to human life and the world we live in—that are felt to be true; and although they cannot be verified, they are accepted. In any religion, they are the basic tenets from which all else follows.

When these definitions are dissected, there seems to be a clear parallel between the basis for religious faith and the marketing framework that companies use in their brand-building methods. However, these definitions need to be reflected upon, in conjunction with a more in-depth understanding of how a brand is defined.

There are two definitions of brands that offer a clear connection between brands and religion. Jeffrey E. Scholes, professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado

Springs, notes:

Corporate brands are unique cultural expressions. Unlike some forms of music, movies, television shows or professional sports to name a few, brands rarely enter the realm of pop culture haphazardly, organically or reluctantly. Brands are signs, logos, symbols, etc., that serve as the identity of a product or service. Hence brands are carefully constructed by companies and their marketing/advertising apparatus to generate the kind of meaning that will garner consumer loyalty. (151)

This deeper meaning and connection with a brand is what compels consumers to think about their relationship with products in a religious manner. James Twitchell takes this idea even further:

Brand stories act like religion not just by holding people together but also by holding individual experiences together … We cluster around [brands] as we used to cluster around sacred relics; we are loyal to them like we are loyal to symbols such as the flag; we live through, around, and against them. Brands have become members of the new and improved family of man. (24–25)

Clearly, the undeniable link between religion and branding is a subject worth exploring.

In fact, not only have branding strategies likened themselves to religions, but in some ways, they have become synonymous. According to Catherine Albanese (250–255), aspects of both pluralism and oneness exist in the American religious system. Such

pluralism encompasses the many different religions and religious customs that exist in the

United States. Through a cultural evolution, these different practices now incorporate consumer behavior, and the propensity for and the manner in which certain products are purchased and used. Conrad Ostwalt describes it as follows:

This evolution has resulted in changes in the ways humans are religious and often in the way humans express themselves religiously, so we get a constant infusion of new religious expressions, new religions, revivals of religions and new vehicles [of] expression of the religious imagination. Oftentimes these new vehicles for expression come from outside the tradition[al] religious institution … As a result we often find popular cultural forms taking on some of the tasks of traditional religions in this constantly evolving, shifting secular landscape. (14)

Not only do religious traditions influence marketing strategies, but the way people have begun to show loyalty to brands also seems to influence how they perceive religion.

Gavan Fitzsimons of Duke University, working with three other researchers, conducted several experiments to test the premise that brands and religiosity can be substitutes for one another. Their results indicate that religious devotion tends to reduce reliance on brands and that the reverse is also true: A focus on brands tends to reduce people’s reliance on religion.

What we find is that when we activate brand versus activating some other neutral concept, people’s belief that attending religious services on the weekend is important goes down pretty dramatically. Even belief in a higher, controlling god goes down dramatically … Statistically, it is unbelievably robust. It shows up over and over and over again. The stats all show that it is not just small change. It is a large change that’s statistically significant … I think it’s certainly fair to say that we can shake or reduce their belief in God by activating brand. (Hicks 1)

Brands have created their own philosophy of understanding consumers’ needs and

delivering exactly what it is that they are looking for.

The connections established above create a rather straightforward model for exploring the relationship between religion and brands. To synthesize the definitions of religion cited above for the purpose of this study, religion is defined as a unified system of eight elements—the symbol, the prophet, the dogma, the utopian perfection, the message, the scared space, the miracles, and the believers—that come together to create a synergy of devotion. It is important to note these elements are relevant to monotheistic traditions and are not applicable to religion in general. We can use these elements to examine the ways in which branding and advertising transform consumers’ perceptions of everyday goods and entertainment into faithful brand devotion. This creates the perception that brands have semi-divine powers. Although companies may not mimic religious persuasion directly or consciously, many use some of religion’s structural components to create tactics for winning over converts.

In the world of marketing, the symbol becomes the logo, the prophet becomes the visionary leader, the dogma becomes the slogan, utopian perfection becomes the halo effect, the message becomes the brand promise, the sacred space becomes the retail outlet, miracles become brand attributes, and believers become brand advocates. There are many similarities among these elements in their forms and functions, within their respective disciplines.

A “symbol,” defined as a figure or mark intended to represent a person, object, group, or idea, can be depicted graphically, as with the crucifix for Christianity and the star and crescent moon for Islam. In the business world, a logo is defined as a design or

graphic commonly used by companies, organizations, and individuals to aid in creating instant public recognition. Some examples include McDonald’s golden arches, Twitter’s blue bird, and Coca-Cola’s logotype. It is easy for one to see the parallels between symbols in the religious context and corporate logos.

A “visionary leader” can be described as a person with a clear, distinctive, and specific vision of the future, usually connected with advances in politics, business, technology, or religious thought. This type of leader is a critical aspect of both religion and marketing. For instance, in Hebrew, the word “spokesperson” translates as “prophet.”

In Christianity, a prophet is someone who is inspired by God to deliver a message for a specific purpose. Islam teaches that Allah sent prophets to humanity to communicate His message. Regardless of the specific religion, prophets were those who taught others around them about faith in God, and about how to walk on the path of righteousness.

Similarly, the visionary leader of a certain brand acts as a spokesperson, sets the path of a company, and guides the brand’s devotees down the aisle to their products. As companies are always looking for a charismatic visionary to be at their helm, the visionary leader, much like the prophet, acts as the brand’s leader and representative. Examples of visionary leaders include Lee Iacocca, Ted Turner, and Sam Walton.

All monotheistic religions possess a dogma at their core, or a system of beliefs or doctrines. Dogma serves as part of the primary basis of an ideology, and it cannot be changed or discarded without disturbing the system’s paradigm and its base ideology.

Much like dogma, slogans are phrases that are used to express the primary basis for a brand’s position or are used as a simple expression of the company’s core mission. They

are often memorable phrases used in advertising campaigns and are some of the most effective means of drawing attention to aspects of a product or brand. Their purpose is to emphasize the ideas that companies wish to be remembered for in order to market a specific corporate image or connection to a product or consumer base.

In the framework of marketing, utopian perfection becomes the halo effect.

Utopian perfection can be described as possessing highly desirable or perfect qualities.

The Jewish, Islamic, and Christian ideas of the Garden of Eden and Heaven can be interpreted as utopian forms. These religious utopias are often described as “gardens of delight,” implying an existence free from worry in a state of bliss or enlightenment. The halo effect is a term used in marketing to explain the predisposition of customers toward certain products because of favorable experiences with other products of the same brand.

The blissful outcome from the perceived superiority of the product is transferred to other aspects of the brand’s products, making them equally perfect.

Though similar to dogma, the religious message can be defined as the overarching narrative and truths that are shared among followers. For example, in the Christian tradition, followers believe that if they follow the Golden Rule, as expressed in the

Sermon on the Mount, they will earn a place in Heaven. The message is a summation of the religion’s core ideas and doctrine, and is a way to connect the follower to the faith. In marketing, such a message relates directly to the brand promise (or positioning statement) that companies make to their consumers. The brand promise is the overarching narrative that outlines the benefits and experiences that companies use to connect and elevate their products in their current and prospective consumers’ minds. This deeper sense of

meaning and connection with a brand compels consumers to think about their relationship with the product in a religious manner. According to Twitchell,

brand stories act like religion not just by holding people together but also by holding individual experiences together … We cluster around them as we used to cluster around sacred relics; we are loyal to them like we are loyal to symbols such as the flag; we live through, around, and against them. Brands have become members of the new and improved family of man. (24–25)

These benefits and experiences keep the consumer connected to the brand while he or she waits for the next product that will improve their quality of life or bring them happiness.

A sacred space can be described as a place dedicated for religious practice, or as the dwelling place of a god, gods, or other objects of religious veneration. It can be as simple as a room, sanctuary, or shrine, or as grand as a temple, church, or synagogue.

These are spaces in which true believers can connect to their faith—they are a spot carved out specifically for that purpose. Similarly, the retail store is also created for a specific purpose. It is a place in which goods are sold to consumers and in which consumers can interact with the products and connect with the brands they love. Edward

Linenthal and David Chidester explain this type of location in American Sacred Space as a place that is claimed, owned, and operated by people advancing specific interests; it cannot be discovered or founded like any other space. Linenthal and Chidester break up their definition of sacred space into three steps.

First, we can identify sacred space as ritual space, a location for formalized, repeatable symbolic performances. As sacred space, a ritual site is set apart from or carved out of an “ordinary” environment to provide an arena for the performance of controlled, “extraordinary” patterns of action … Second, sacred space is significant space, a site, orientation, or set of relations subject to interpretation because it focuses crucial questions about what it

means to be a human being in a meaningful world … Third and finally, sacred space is inevitable contested space, a site of negotiated contests over the legitimate ownership of sacred symbols, space is fundamental in any exercise of power. (12–15)

Today, these sacred places include Disney World, the Apple Store, and Nike “Towns”— these are places that have been built to serve the brands’ many worshipers. Sacred places are a core component of these modern commercial quasi-religions, which, like traditional ones, embody the core beliefs the individual holds most dear. As T. S. Eliot wrote in

Notes towards the Definition of Culture, “bishops are a part of English culture, and horses and dogs are a part of English religion,” (16), and, as is evident through consumers’ brand loyalty, in the world-religion of the educated and prosperous in the twenty-first century, Disney, Apple and Nike have created their own consumer holy lands in towns and malls all over the world.

Technically, miracles are defined from a religious point of view as events that defy the laws of nature. In the colloquial understanding of the word, a miracle can be described as an advantageous event that is decidedly unlikely but not contrary to the laws of nature, such as surviving a natural disaster, or that is simply a “wonderful” occurrence, regardless of likelihood, such as the birth of a child. Other examples of miracles may include surviving a terminal illness or just beating the odds against a real or perceived obstacle. In marketing, brands try to recreate this phenomenon via “brand attributes.”

Brand attributes portray a company’s brand characteristics. They signify the basic nature of the brand as a bundle of features that highlight the physical and personality aspects of the brand. Attributes are developed through images, actions, and presumptions. These attributes create and attach specialness to the product. They help create the feeling that

the product makes wonderful or miraculous things occur. Brand attributes can create the impression that the product being sold will easily help the user beat the odds (e.g., make the user faster or smarter). This is achieved through marketing and ensuring brand quality. Thus, products become the business world’s miracle.

A sustainable religion must have dedicated and devoted followers. The same holds true for brands: If a brand does not have brand advocates (loyal customers as well as enthusiastic employees), it will fail. The communal human connection is just as important in marketing and branding as it is in religion. Thus, because marketing strategies attempt to ingrain brands so deeply into our lives, they now function as a type of religion for many. Accordingly, some individuals develop such a strong devotion to a brand or product that this fervor seems to invoke a spiritual experience. Iconic brands have thus created and implemented brand strategies, organizational behaviors, and operational procedures that purposely mimic those of a religion. As with religions, without individuals, there are no faithful; without brand advocates, there is no market share, and thus no brand.

By breaking down religion into the abovementioned eight facets, it is evident that businesses use branding and marketing strategies to create their own messages, prophets, and devotees. In the creation of a brand’s strategy, the leaders and prophets of the brand direct their followers to conform to a particular set of customs and traditions that distinguish them as a unique nation of brand advocates and, in turn, they utilize the key aspects of religion to build their empire.

To further explore this hypothesis, three brands—Apple, Disney, and Nike—are analyzed using this framework. The marketing and branding practices of these three companies can be understood through the lens of religion to reveal how some consumer giants have harnessed the power of consumerism to create their own unique religions by mimicry, using the elements of established religions such as Judaism, Islam, and

Christianity. Ultimately, at the most basic level, religious teachings intend to cleanse the human mind, body, or soul from all that can potentially defile it. This thesis will argue that brands, especially Apple, Disney, and Nike, aim to take hold of a part of this trinity.

Mind = Knowledge = Apple

Body = Fitness = Nike

Spirit = Uplifting = Disney

Chapter II

Apple

In the beginning of the Information Age was the void. And the void was digital. But lo, there came upon the land the shadow of Steven Jobs (Stephen Wozniak). And Steven/Stephen said, “Let there be Apple.” And there was Apple. And Steven/Stephen beheld Apple. And it was good. And Apple begat Macintosh. And it was good. And soon upon the land there began to appear The Cult of Macintosh. For they had tasted of Apple. And it was good. (Belk and Tumbat 205)

Mind = Knowledge = Apple

Advertising agency Young & Rubicam asserted that brands are the new religion and that brand builders are similar to the missionaries of Christianity and Islam (Tomkins

2001). Belk and Tumbat argue that the Macintosh brand has a community following that is equivalent to a religion in many ways, characterized by a strong network of adherents, faith in a “savior” (Steve Jobs), and general enmity toward a common evil (IBM,

Microsoft, etc.). These are just two of several examples that demonstrate the fascinating relationship between brands and religion.

“And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed”—so ends the second chapter of the King James Version of Genesis. Chapter 3 narrates the

Fall and its repercussions after Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge: “The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (Genesis 3:7). Presumably, they made themselves clothes to cover their nakedness because they were ashamed. When they ate from the Tree of Knowledge, evil inclinations became a part of them. No longer did they need an external tempter to incite them to sin—that tempter now resided in their psyches.

Specifically, this temptation was a lust for knowledge and control—a passion much stronger and more encompassing than the desire to give praise to God. With such passion came a serious risk of misuse of power.

By comparison, Apple fosters the idea that if you partake in their products, you will be granted the powers of knowledge and control. Steve Jobs has been praised as a visionary leader who built the Apple brand, which survives him today. His ultimate ambition and objective was to quench consumers’ thirst for knowledge and control. As noted in How Apple, Others Have Cultivated Religious Followings, by Martin Lindstrom,

Jobs pursued the vision that “man is the creator of change in this world. As such, he should be above systems and structures, and not subordinate to them” (1). While this vision can be understood by and applied to the consumer market, Jobs has also been

praised in more religious terms. Andy Crouch, a theologian, described Jobs as a “secular prophet”:

Steve Jobs turned Eve’s apple, the symbol of fallen humankind, into a religious icon for true believers in technology … Steve Jobs was the evangelist of this particular kind of progress—and he was the perfect evangelist because he had no competing source of hope. He believed so sincerely in the “magical, revolutionary” promise of Apple precisely because he believed in no higher power … [H]is most singular quality has been his ability to articulate a perfectly secular form of hope. (1)

Fig. 1. Steve Jobs. (Time Magazine, January 1, 2008).

Furthermore, Deutschman even found that the charismatic Jobs employed a highly demanding management style that alternated between charming and horrible: “The conventional wisdom was that Steve Jobs was a great visionary but not a good

businessman” (2). Deutschman also noted in a 2011 Newsweek article (Fig.1) that Jobs found many of the most brilliant engineers and creative types to actually respond well to cruel criticism, because it reinforced their own secret belief that they were not living up to their vaunted potential. Jobs’ relentlessly high standards inspired their own maniacal work. Jobs also became a master of psychological manipulation, by playing the roles of both good cop and bad cop as he alternated lavish praise with terrifying scorn. His colleagues called it the “hero–shithead roller coaster,” and it often inspired them to do the best work of their careers until, ultimately, they could no longer take the brutal psychological toll.

Due to Jobs’ vision, perfection became the brand, and Apple’s sense for detail became ingrained in the product. This obsession with perfection is shown in every detail of Apple’s simple yet powerful products. It is even an instrumental aspect of Apple’s logo and slogans (both of which make a clear reference to the story of the Garden of

Eden). Consequently, Apple has created a global language, an expectation of innovation, and an instant language design, all under the perfectionist eye of Jobs until his death in

October 2011.

Fig. 2. Apple Rainbow Logo.

Apple’s logo was an important part of Jobs’ original vision for the company.

According to Jean-Louis Gassée, former general manager of Apple France and former president of Apple Products, the Apple symbol was not chosen at random; it was designed to represent the third apple that would widen the paths of knowledge and lead devoted followers toward the future (9–10). Using religion as a base, Apple built a system of beliefs around a Genesis allusion. Andy Crouch further observes that Apple’s logo, which slapped a rainbow on the very archetype of humanity’s fall and failure—the bitten fruit—was turned into a sign of promise and progress. The biblical story of the Fall pronounced a curse upon human work: “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life” (Genesis 3:17). Apple built a product around the story that technology implicitly promises to reverse this curse, by easing the burden of creaturely existence. The story also implies that technology is most celebrated when it is simple and almost invisible—when the machinery is completely hidden, combining godlike effortlessness with blissful ignorance about the mechanisms that deliver us from the burdens of our previous lives (Crouch 1).

In addition to its logo, Apple developed two main slogans. Coupled with the bitten apple, the slogan and logo tell a simple story: “Byte into an Apple” and “Think different.” These two ideas create a dogma that leads to the idea that if you have an Apple computer, you will acquire knowledge and “think different.” This dogma strays from traditional religious teachings because it contrasts with the negative attributes of knowledge that the King James Bible emphasizes in Genesis 3:5: “God doth know that in

the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Apple changed the idea of tasting the forbidden fruit and “be[ing] like

God” from a negative act to a tantalizingly positive one. Still, despite its diverging point of view, Apple’s dogma instills a set of beliefs in its followers. It suggests that when you

“Byte into an Apple” computer, you will have access to all knowledge. This power of technology has put us “above systems and structures,” as Jobs intended.

Today, the power of the technological brand has some church leaders concerned about the devotion of technology users. These leaders have started to see Apple and other companies as integral in the lives of people in a way that was once only reserved for religious institutions. This religious-like devotion was noted on the 26th World Youth

Day at the Vatican by Pope Benedict XVI, who believed that technology consumption posed a threat to religion, and to the Roman Catholic Church, in particular. The pope told a Palm Sunday crowd in 2011 that technology could not replace God, even though it may inspire religious devotion: “From the beginning, men and women have been filled—and this is as true today as ever—with a desire to ‘be like God,’ to attain the heights of God by their own powers” (1). He added, “Mankind has managed to accomplish so many things: We can fly! We can see, hear, and speak to one another from the farthest ends of the earth. And yet the force of gravity which draws us down is powerful” (1). If man wants a relationship with God, he or she must first “abandon the pride of wanting to become God” (1). This “pride of wanting to become God” seems reflective of Eve’s curiosity to know what God knows. From this standpoint, it reveals Apple’s message that pursuing knowledge undermines traditional Judeo–Christian ideas; thus, ultimately

aligning itself with the adversary Lucifer, the rebel and the liberator of

God’s monotheistic tyranny.

Jobs felt that this was not the case. In fact, his feelings about the transcendence of technology were positive (completely in contrast to those of Pope Benedict XVI), and he thus placed Apple products and the pursuit of knowledge on the side of good.

The “good versus evil” theme is familiar in the commentary on computer technology.

As Jeffery Alexander contends in “The Sacred and Profane Information Machine:

Discourse about the Computer as Ideology,” the computer, like other technological advances that came before it, is perceived as a machine that contains great supernatural power—a power that is capable of achieving both good and evil. In her study of computer hackers, Turkle noticed a precursor to the “Macintosh versus Microsoft” phenomenon. She identified a programming language war, in which business languages such as COBOL were perceived as symbols of the “uniformity of mass culture that buries the individual in the crowd,” whereas LISP was seen as “the language of pleasure, of individuality, a language that facilities a way of thinking” (The Second Self

229).

Fig. 3. Apple Computer Advertisement 1.

Fig. 4. Apple Computer Advertisement 2.

Rather than labeling technology as either good or evil, David Noble presents the myth of the “religion of technology,” through which he makes an overarching argument relating religion to technology. He argues that humans engage with technology in an attempt to regain some lost sense of divinity, meaning, and control over the world.

Technology, he claims, has become linked with the idea of transcendence, whereby it serves as a gateway to salvation and redemption from the brokenness of the world and humanity’s limitations. This gives technology an eschatological component: “the millenarian promise of restoring mankind to its God-like perfection” (Noble 201).

Perhaps, then, technology provides something that many feel religion cannot provide— knowledge.

The themes of good versus evil and knowledge versus blind faith also appear in the rhetoric of Mac enthusiasts. While Alexander asserts that in the technological discourse, “the computer embodied within itself both superhuman evil and superhuman good” (167), Mac devotees have further elaborated on what is good and what is evil, and they proselytize their beliefs through the Internet and other media. Those who profess knowledge of Apple products, as Alexander describes it, have even achieved a status of priesthood within their online communities. Descriptions of technology have thus become imbued with religious qualities, so that technological use takes on an incarnational quality that promises a pathway to utopia.

In an information society, the person who holds the most information or access to knowledge is the one who is closest to perfection.

In his study of commentaries on technology, Stahl (19) argues that the mysticism

associated with computer technology can be interpreted as an implicit religion, since practice, identity, mystification, and technological mysticism are at the heart of advanced industrial society. When we look at technology in this manner, we find some remarkable similarities with theological traditions. Like a religion, technological mysticism binds people together. The myth of technological mysticism also frames technology as magical.

This magic draws in consumers, as branding strategies open the users’ eyes to the miracle of, for example, Apple products. The products envisioned by Jobs connect with people.

They may not understand how the products work, but the products become a vital part of their lives—that is the miracle of Apple. Apple, in both the physical and virtual worlds, exerts a great deal of influence on how people live and conduct their lives today. Due to this secular worship of its brand, Apple subsequently focused on selling not only its products, but also its brand identity. This connection to the user has created a unique devotion to the Apple brand by its brand advocates.

Further supporting the idea that the Apple marketing strategies have turned the brand into a religion, Apple customers are particularly distinguished by their fierce loyalty to the brand and the extent to which they develop a personal identification with

Apple products. Apple sells computers, smartphones, operating systems, and software to a fervently loyal segment of the market, and one of its products—the iPhone—has reached a position of market dominance. This fierce loyalty has been characterized as an instance of “brand community,” which Muñiz and O’Guinn define as “a specialized, non- geographically bound community based on a structured set of social relationships among admirers of a brand” (412). Schouten and McAlexander call such groups “subcultures of

consumption” (43), which, in turn, share a commitment to a particular product class, brand, or consumption activity. The characteristics of a subculture of consumption include “an identifiable, hierarchical social structure [based on status]; a unique ethos … and unique jargon, rituals, and modes of symbolic expression [to facilitate shared meanings in consumer goods and activities]” (43). Daniel Boorstin takes this same idea, but broadens it and labels “subculture” groups as “consumption communities” (89).

He contends that in consumption communities, Americans’ sense of unity and commonality is increasingly more likely to be based on common consumption patterns than on their daily interactions due to geographical contiguity.

Leander Kahney explains this parallel between a religious community and the

Apple community in a single but precise sentence: “If you’re joining a church, you’re joining a community. And when you buy an Apple product, you’re joining the Apple community” (Heussner 2). Similar to religious followers, these brand advocates display their commitment to the Apple community in physical and demonstrable ways. Whereas a Christian devotee might wear a cross around their neck, an Apple brand advocate puts the Apple logo on their vehicle. Both display his or her community’s signs to show their loyalty. Loyalty in the Apple community can even get so extreme that Apple followers tattoo themselves with the brand’s logo to show their devotion. This permanent decision for consumers to display their dedication depicts a level of brand advocacy that very few brands have ever achieved. To illustrate the above, the following Apple advocates went to the extreme to demonstrate what the power of the brand means and how it contributes to their loyalty. Christy, a college student from Ithaca, New York, explained:

Apple gets it—[T]hey make beautifully designed products, and that is what I am about. The other main factor is [that] when I think of Apple computers, I think of my friends[,] and I smile. I met a lot of them through rendezvous on iChat at my school, and they mean the world to me. I didn’t get an Apple logo tattooed on me because I claim to be the goddess of computers but [because of] what the logo has come to mean to me[.] [W]hen a little Apple can make you smile so much, why shouldn’t it be tattooed on your body? (Larratt)

Fig. 5. Christy’s Tattoo. (BME News July 20, 2004).

An Apple believer and employee of the company, Nicole (from Seattle,

Washington), has an even deeper emotional connection:

It was also my enthusiasm for Apple that was a factor in meeting my life partner; without being Mac users, we probably wouldn’t have found such a common bond. I wanted to get the tattoo to symbolize my coming of age, because what it stood for was such a factor … I had the tattoo for reasons outside its duty as a logo. Even if the company went out of business, I had the tattoo [of] my coming of age; and it was only a symbol of such. My feelings about Apple have become stronger after getting the tattoo; it’s always a blast to meet others with Apple tattoos. (Larratt)

Fig. 6. Nicole’s Tattoo. (BME News July 20, 2004).

Tattooing for spiritual and decorative purposes is not a new phenomenon; however, tattooing a consumer-brand’s logo on one’s body is. These Apple brand advocates show their reverence for the brand not only by purchasing the product, but also through one of the oldest forms of spiritual devotion: body art.

Russell Belk, a consumer behaviorist, goes further. He argues that the Mac community is quasi-religious. He has studied the Mac community for years and has produced a video monograph called The Cult of Macintosh, based on a series of interviews with Mac users. “The Mac and its fans constitute the equivalent of a religion,”

Belk wrote in the video’s abstract. He continues:

This religion is based on an origin myth for Apple Computer, heroic and savior legends surrounding its co-founder and current CEO Steve Jobs, the devout faith of its follower congregation, their belief in the righteousness of the Macintosh, the existence of one or more Satanic opponents, Mac believers proselytizing and converting nonbelievers, and the hope among cult members that salvation can be achieved by transcending corporate capitalism. (Belk and Tumbat 207)

Religious-like devotion to Apple as a brand has even been shown to have an effect on people on a biological level. The BBC documentary entitled Secrets of the

Superbrands further exemplifies the manifestation of this devotion. During the show, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test found that the same areas of the brains of Apple devotees were stimulated when shown images of the company’s products as those of people of faith when they looked at religious imagery. The biological effect of the brand explains why this devotion is more than simply the purchasing of a product or even a connection to a brand. It is truly a religious experience, one that affects Apple advocates on a physiological level.

Clearly, Apple has proven to be more than a computer company. Goodell, a computer commentator, states it in the clearest terms:

Apple never pretended to be just another Silicon Valley start-up. It had long sold itself as the great hope of the counterculture, living proof that good could triumph over evil, light over darkness, intelligence over authority. It was a company that seemed to have everything going for it: the smartest people, the best technology, the highest hopes, the truest believers. It had a prophet, Steve Jobs, and a wizard, Steve Wozniak. (52)

Apple has moved beyond being a computer company because it was never meant to be one in the first place. The intention of Apple’s creators was to elevate minds and create a community through technology.

Albert Borgman, an American philosopher, “has observed that technology promises to relieve us of the burden of being merely human, of being finite creatures in a harsh and unyielding world.” (Crouch 1). Having a spiritual connection to unlimited knowledge through access makes users feel connected to the brand. Apple allows this

access and gives users power and control that compels them to practice a religious type of devotion. This is all constructed within the context of a religious structure.

Within the Apple brand, there are many key religious components. One of the unique aspects of the brand is its borrowing of traditional Judeo–Christian elements.

More specifically, however, Apple wraps a bold quest for knowledge and control over one’s world into its brand identity. Knowledge is presented not as a sin, but as an aspiration. Apple, the brand, aims to connect the idea that the mind, like the body and spirit, must be fed.

Mind = Knowledge = Apple

Once you take a “Byte into an Apple,” you will “Think different.”

Chapter III

Nike

Nike, giver of sweetness, to you the father, son of Ouranos, on his high bench has granted glorious honour, so that in gold-rich Olympus you stand beside Zeus and judge the outcome of prowess for immortals and mortals: be gracious, daughter of thick-tressed, right-judging Styx; it is thanks to you that Metapontion … is now filled with the celebrations and festivities of strong-limbed youths, and they sing the praises of the Pythian victor. (Campbell Bacchylides)

Body = Fitness = Nike

More than just a brand name or a logo, brands are a manufactured idea that infiltrates the imagination. Colin Bates, of BuildingBrands.com, says, “a brand is a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer” (Jethani 49). Thus, the goal of branding is not the development of an eye-catching logo. The goal of branding is to alter peoples’ perception so that they involuntarily associate that logo with predetermined feelings.

Brands such as Nike nurture relevant emotional ties between the Nike brand and consumer segments, or as Nike states in its corporate mission statement: “To bring

inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” Nurturing inspiration and emotional ties is not a process that targets the logical faculties of the brain. Instead, branding is a more artistic endeavor that relies heavily on the mind’s imaginative power.

Created in 1972 by visionary leaders Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, Nike has developed into a world-renowned powerhouse with brand adherents around the globe.

Around the time of its inception, the company introduced the legendary Waffle sports shoe, which incorporated a revolutionary sole that acted as a shock absorber and improved impetus. Since then, Nike has become an undisputed leader in the sports equipment market.

Unlike Apple, Nike alludes to Greek mythology, not to Christianity and Judaism, to round out its business plan. Nike was the winged Greek goddess of victory, both in battle and peaceful athletic competition. According to Greek myth, when the god Zeus was gathering allies at the start of the war against the Titans, Styx brought her four children—Nike (victory), Kratos (strength), Zelus (rivalry), and Bia (force)—to offer support to the great god. Nike was appointed his charioteer, and all four were appointed as sentinels standing beside the throne of the god. According to history, a golden statue of

Nike was captured by Rome during its wars with the Greek king Pyrrhus. The statue became the symbol of Rome’s expansion, as it transformed from a local power to a

Mediterranean juggernaut. The statue remained in the senate house until it was removed in the late fourth century AD by the Christian emperor. This removal was met with outrage from Roman pagans, and was considered by some contemporaries and modern scholars to be the true beginning of the fall of Rome.

As Nike had such a mythological following in Rome—one at the very core of

Roman expansion—this unique history inspired Bowerman and Knight to establish a similar brand mythology within their company. Using the winged Greek goddess of victory as the core of its brand, Nike’s marketing strategy was, and is, simple—life is a sport and must be won. Nike created a brand strategy centering on the idea that if you purchase the company’s products and make the commitment to “Just do it,” you will be connected to the superhuman, and may even have the chance to play as well as Nike- sponsored athletes, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, and

Lebron James. Or, you might even be able to fly like Michael Jordan. The marketing platform is simple: The fitness of your body will lead you to victory. Furthermore, the use of Nike-sponsored athletes helps to connect the consumer not only to the brand, but also to the brand benefit of fitness.

Today, Nike packages this idea, introduces it into the minds of the consumers through advertising, and keeps it there until the time comes to buy sports apparel. Nike’s products stand as the bridge between the ideological apotheosis of sport and the common man. Nike creates the perception that anyone can identify themselves with gods. Physical fitness and health have become the basis of the Nike religion. The active body becomes a sacred object; in Nike’s case, exercise represents the rituals of a religion, and the sports stars are superhuman gods. With its dogma of “Just do it,” its symbol of the swoosh, and the almost-superhuman attributes of the athletes that it sponsors, Nike has created a religion based on the concept that anyone can be superhuman, if they just get off of the couch and put their efforts into succeeding.

As with Apple, Nike’s brand strategy involves strategies that purposely utilize many religious elements and structures to sell consumer products. Scott Bedbury, the former vice president of marketing at Nike, believes that brands should be larger than the products they represent, and that branding extends beyond the product alone. He drove the idea that Nike should “offer more than the product. Create an experience around it[,] and pay attention to the details. This ‘experience’ is what people are buying, just as much as the product they put on their feet. And that experience costs money. Billions of dollars” (3).

This mission was also ingrained in the employees, so that working for the brand was more than just a sales job. Rather, employees were selling “that experience” and were thereby on some sort of religious endeavor. Jeff Johnson, Nike’s first employee, noted that his work “was a holy mission, you know, to swoosh the world. To get swooshes on everybody’s feet. We were Knight’s crusaders. We would have died on the cross” (Bedbury vi). This quest turned Nike into something larger than just a shoe company. As Matt Haig says, “[I]f Nike didn’t spend a penny on marketing and charged five dollars for each pair of running shoes, there would be no demand for the product.

The marketing and the high prices turn products into aspirational items” (82). The Nike marketing strategy, therefore, aimed to connect consumers’ self-identity with Nike, so that these consumers would ultimately evolve into devoted followers of the brand, as opposed to followers of any individual product. Corporations such as Nike use advertising, branding, and marketing to escalate consumer commitment and religious-like devotion.

Also ingrained within the Nike brand is the creed “Just do it.” As Nike is in the business of making sports equipment, the intention of the slogan is to instruct people that when it comes to sports and competition, they should not just talk about what they can or should achieve—they should “Just do it.” In other words, do not merely talk about running; go out and run. While a slogan is technically defined as a phrase used to express a characteristic position or stand, or a goal to be achieved, in the context of branding, it is a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. “Just do it” has become one of the most famous slogans in the world because it is short, concise, direct, memorable, effective, and witty. It is elegant in its simplicity, and different people derive different meanings through different ways of thinking about it. This simplicity is important, as it has suggestiveness in other parts of life outside of sports. This is intentional and similar to

Apple’s acquisition of knowledge. In the case of Nike’s slogan, from the consumer’s point of view, it could mean, for example, “I will buy it and wear it. I will wear it. I will be great and victorious.” From the businessman’s point of view, it encourages individuals to step up and “try it (a new venture, etc.).” When this motto is applied to everyday life, it develops a richer meaning, depending on the context and situation in which it is employed, and it can be understood in the following manner: Do what you want to do and keep on doing it until you succeed. As such, the phrase not only highlights the believers’ self-consciousness, but also emphasizes the movement itself in a manner that elevates

Nike to religious status.

Nike’s swoosh is its visual symbol. Due to its simplicity, the swoosh can be compared to the Christian cross. As human cultures are reliant on symbols and images,

the simple and easily recognizable symbol of the Nike swoosh has had a great impact on modern society. Many successful corporations such as Apple and Nike have replaced their text-based icons with easily recognizable symbols. Nike’s swoosh is a clear example of how effective this practice is.

The swoosh is also Nike’s signature. With or without the word “Nike” written underneath it, representations of the swoosh conjure up images of Nike in the general population’s minds. Regardless of whether this swoosh provokes associations with ancient Greek gods, or alludes to the pursuit of excellence, the interpretive nature of the logo has made a positive contribution to the marketing and business success of the brand.

The logo is at the heart of the organization’s identity. It is featured on all products and publicity materials, and is synonymous with Nike’s name and its strategic values.

The swoosh is a form of visual language whose purpose is to visually and symbolically persuade the consumer to buy. This representation of Nike through its logo must communicate everything the organization wants the public to know about it in this one single symbol. Through Nike’s marketing efforts, the swoosh simultaneously represents athleticism, competition, and victory. Viewers of the swoosh know that this is what it means. Yet, Nike’s audience does not notice this upon initial examination of the swoosh, because “visual communication is always coded [and] seems transparent only because we know the code already, at least implicitly” (Kress and VanLeeuwen 32).

Symbols are culturally bound and have a shared meaning within the culture

(Trenholm 376). Nike prides itself on creating state-of-the-art athletic equipment, from running shoes to soccer balls, and supports its brand message, which rhetorically

represents success, and visually connects with the ancient gods of sport. Nike attributes the swoosh’s success to the fact that it embodies a successful, simple, and recognizable trademark. This clear logo represents a perfect example of mixing rhetorical semiotics

(recognizable links to superhuman gods and excellence) and the simplicity of the mark to create a strong brand basis. The swoosh is designed to connect the viewer’s mind to

Nike’s unique selling proposition, which inevitably promotes the brand on a sub- conscious and religious level. Through its unique visual device, Nike has been able to create brand loyalty among consumers, separating their identical products from others on the market.

As Phil Cooke summarizes,

If sport is the religion of the modern age, then Nike has successfully become the official church. It is a church whose icon serves as an allegory that formulates salvation in a special parabolical and symbolic language. The swoosh is a window on the border between this world and the other, between your existing self (you overweight slob) and your Nike self (you god of fitness), where salvation is the attainment of the athletic Nietzschean ideal: no fear, no mercy, no second place. (161)

The branding and marketing program of Nike has laid out the foundation of Nike’s religion. It has created a community of thought where fitness is the key to a better life and all the consumer needs to do is buy the product.

Fig. 7. NikeTown. New York City. (Theweblicist.com).

The retail branch of the Nike brand, NikeTown, also expands this allegory:

“NikeTown is neither a sporting goods supermarket nor simply a building; it is a city animated by the spirit of Nike” (von Bories 75). In a 1996 article titled “Bow Down at the

Altar of Retail,” Randy Gragg writes that Nike’s lavish NikeTown in Manhattan turns

“shopping into a form of worship” in a “shimmering temple of capitalism” (T1–T2). To do this, Nike’s strategy ensures that the stores are filled with multimedia simulations, dramatic lighting, high ceilings, and themed media, which together give the Nike brand a museum-like perspective, thus making the connection between shopping and worship clear, expected, and encouraged. Marguerite Helmers asserts that the placement of objects in a manner that imitates museum exhibits, as well as the emphasis placed on certain exhibits over others, creates “a cultural and visual memory that establishes the value and meaning of objects” (78). In NikeTown stores, the placement of certain

products (such as the museum wall of shoes that every NikeTown features) emphasizes the items, elevates them, and thus makes the presentation and perception of the products central to Nike’s brand identity.

If NikeTown is a shrine to the “Church of Nike,” its ministry is spread through

Nike advertisements. These advertisements incorporate diverse spiritual attitudes in a world full of jaded and cynical viewers who still want to believe in something. In his article “God Is in the Details” Wade Clark Roof observes that the religious mood of the

United States in the mid-1990s shifted from a theology of fixed beliefs toward an experiential and expressive quest that was “attuned to body, mind, and self” (150). This quest for a better self is exactly what Nike aggressively addresses through its brand marketing and advertising strategies.

Marketing and branding help the consumer presume that he or she can create an identity with the advertised product. Nike’s athletic shoe advertisements have countless examples of how the brand connects the user with athletic prowess, success, and the adoration of the opposite sex. Although Nike never contends that its products give the user any magical powers, it is implied across all media. In the 2013 ESPN Sports Center feature “It’s Gotta Be the Shoes,” Howard “H” White, vice president of sports marketing for the Jordan Brand, remarks that “purchasing that little logo and putting them on gives you a little bit of help to get better grades, to be a better person, to be a great athlete.” The best example of the Nike superhero is Michael Jordan, who became the first athlete to be a “brand.” The Sports Center feature notes,

After the first pair of Nike “Air Jordan” basketball shoes rolled out, the former Chicago Bulls guard elevated his profile from

superstar to transcendent, cross-over commercial icon. Now, almost 30 years since the first sneakers debuted and nearly a decade since Jordan retired as a pro athlete, his brand endures and continues to perpetuate his basketball legacy. (ESPN)

Nike followers continue to purchase Air Jordan Nikes because doing so is a way for them to connect with the brand and its ambassador’s athletic greatness, even after he left the sports world.

Nike’s brand strategy has made Nike synonymous with sport and has created a symbiotic relationship between the two. Since sport shares similarities with religion,

Nike’s brand has benefited greatly. What these similarities prove, according to Michael

Novak, is that “sports are organized and dramatized in a religious way.” As he explains,

“The origins of sports, like the origins of drama, like in religious celebrations … [and] the rituals, vestments, and tremor of anticipation involved in sports events are like those of religions” (19). In addition, he argues that sports “serve a religious function: they feed a deep human hunger, place humans in touch with certain dimly perceived features of human life within this cosmos, and provide an experience of at least a pagan sense of godliness” (19–20).

In the evolution of Nike’s brand, the company has adopted major consumer-brand marketing programs that utilize many religious elements to sell their products. According to Dumoulin:

Brands and religions are currently undergoing opposite journeys. Religions started by focusing on the inner emotional and spiritual structure of their followers. They now feel the need to widen the subject of their interaction with their followers to secure and demonstrate their relevance to contemporary values and aspirations. Brands, on the other hand, started by addressing very functional and objective/external needs. Their future relies on their

ability to go deeper into the emotional/spiritual needs of their customers. (35)

As Ostwalt writes, the secular and sacred have become intertwined, and the boundaries between them are porous. Ostwalt argues that the two are becoming one. What was once sacred is becoming more secular, and the secular is becoming more sacred. Given its structure, form, history, and business practices, the Nike brand has become a religion.

Blogger and Nike enthusiast Chad Sandy suggests that this intertwining of religion and brand might be a result of the fact that “brands and religion both generate emotion, passion, and loyalty that go beyond the intellectual reasoning. The Nike brand is soul deep, and if it’s soul deep, it’s genuine, and when a brand is genuine, it will be hard to abandon” (1). He pointedly states, “Nike can follow and share some of the very same key principles used in religion” (1). One such example of these similar “key principles” is the omnipresent quality of both religion and brand strategy. As Matt Haig points out,

“successful brands want to be everywhere” (2). Similarly, Haig believes that, “while branding may be an ‘art,’ it also owes a debt to religion” (2) because, “like religions, brands want people to have faith in what they offer … Iconic figures from the world of sport and entertainment attract the kind of devotion once reserved for saints and prophets” (3). Nike has created a system of relationships. It is a brand that represents victory, fitness, and an association with the best of the athletic community.

Fig. 8. Nike Tattoos. (Sneakerfreaker.com).

Another important aspect of religion is its disciples, of which Nike has many. As

Robert Goldman and Stephen Papson point out, “Nike built its brand identity upon … hero worship. The power, indeed the value, of the Nike swoosh depends upon who Nike signs to contracts. Nike transforms athletes into cultural heroes” (46).

Examples of these current-day heroes include athletes such as Michael Jordan, Serena

Williams, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Ronald Inho. Goldman and Papson also note, however, that “heroes are also real people who don’t always meet audience expectations.

The expectation of image collides with the news of how heroes sometimes actually act”—such as Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, and, most recently, South African “blade runner” Oscar Pistorius (48). Despite the imperfections of these modern-day “heroes,” however, people continue to find athletes to adore and revere. It is possible to attribute this phenomenon to the fact that athletes in our culture have become more than just people; they signify a greater meaning, and they inspire hope:

Sports discourse has become so heavily loaded as the discourse of morality that the athlete superhero has been turned into a hyper- inflated signifier of the benefits of hard work and the achievement ethic. Because many athletes emerge out of lower classes, the

superhero image lends to a functioning American Dream. (Goldman and Papson 48)

It is not coincidental that hope and self-improvement also happen to be very relevant themes in religion. In the Nike religion, its products illustrate that exercise represents the ritual, sports stars are gods, and the active body is a sacred object that is achieved via physical fitness and health. The brand is the connective tissue that pulls these elements together.

Body = Fitness = Nike

“Just do it,” and victory will be yours.

Chapter IV

Disney

When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires Will come to you. If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme when you wish upon a star, as dreamers do. Fate is kind; she brings to those to love the sweet fulfillment of their secret longing. Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you through. When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true. (Pinocchio)

Spirit = Uplifting = Disney

In the book No Logo, Naomi Klein states how “‘Brands, not products!’ became the rallying cry for a marketing renaissance led by a new breed of companies that saw themselves as ‘meaning brokers’ instead of product producers” (21). The most successful brands have discovered that we define our identity and express it through the brands we consume.

Like Apple, Disney’s business model is reflective of religion, and like Apple, it borrows from an existing religion. However, in Disney’s case, the religion it seems to mimic is Islam. Through his brand positioning, Walt Disney created a consumer Mecca and focused on building a utopian community.

In Disney’s case, the main scared space is its theme parks. The idea of “theming” is not exclusive to Disney. Many bars, cafes, and hotels are themed. Well-known examples include the Chuck E. Cheese restaurants and the W Hotels. Theming lends coherence to a site and gives it a simple, identifiable narrative. It creates connections, thereby allowing a normally limited ambiance to evolve into a fully integrated environment. This environment may be physical at the theme park or even a virtual experience. The virtual experience can be manifested in the form of a Disney film, television show, website, or iPhone app. All encourage the consumer to come and experience Disney’s “Magic.” Theming allows Disney to connect with its brand advocates wherever they are.

More than just retail outlets, the Disney theme parks are the physical embodiment of Walt Disney’s vision. He created a destination where the visitors could truly

experience the magic of the brand. All that is required is a pilgrimage. In Walt Disney

World: Bounded Ritual Space and the Playful Pilgrimage Center, Alexander Moore stated:

In traditional societies[,] a pilgrimage center is a bounded place apart from ordinary settlement, drawing pilgrims from great distances as well as nearby. It must have some place of congregation, some symbols on display readily understood by the congregated pilgrims, common activities (often conducted en masse)[,] and myth[,] which the other elements (site, symbols, and activities) evoke; such myths are narratives commonly known. (208–209)

In Islam, every physically- and financially-able adult Muslim is expected to undertake a pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. Accordingly, many Muslims travel to Mecca, the sacred city of Islam, each year for their spiritual pilgrimage. Additionally,

Muslims throughout the world are united daily, as they face Mecca in worship five times a day.

Disney has centered its brand on a similar concept of pilgrimage to a holy (or magical) place. Disney is not just a company that produces cartoons or movies—it is meant to be experienced. In the case of Disney, it can be argued that its marketers not only want to encourage a religious crusade, they also want to instigate a pilgrimage:

What I find particularly striking about all things Disney related, and the Disney World amusement park in particular, is the way in which they serve both to collect and to segregate the fantastic. Here we have what is in effect an ideal world, in microcosm, that exists by virtue of its separation from everyday reality, both spatially and temporally. A visit to the pure—and quite exceptional—land of Disney World is just that: a visit, a trip, a holiday … And, of course, the “world” here is bounded: on one’s visit, one enters the grounds; and it is on those grounds, only and exclusively, that the magic happens. And then, after the pre-

delineated period of the visit is over, one leaves the grounds and leaves the fantastic behind. (Arnal 61)

It is possible to argue that the pilgrimage many take to Disney World represents a consumerist religious practice that is similar to other religious pilgrimages. As noted above, Mecca is an illustrative example.

Cher Knight believes that spiritual magnetism is the drawing power of a pilgrimage center (Knight and Perlmutter 39). She also noted that this spiritual magnetism can be influenced by social, historical, and geographical factors. Pilgrims who take the journey to Mecca are driven by their faith, and many internal and external motivations draw them to this holy city. As Disney World holds a sense of spiritual magnetism for many, it can be seen as a pilgrimage center for those who are devoted to

Walt Disney’s works and those who want to experience “The Happiest Place on Earth.”

For individuals who view a trip to a Disney theme park as a rite of passage, the parks can hold great significance, just as Mecca does for the followers of Islam. With Disney, the visitor must visit “The Happiest Place on Earth” to truly experience the “magic.”

The slogan, “The Happiest Place on Earth,” allows the Disney brand to create the feeling of a special place in which the visitor experiences utopian perfection, where only good happens. This is “a place where dreams come true.” This ultimate brand experience is truly a religious experience, affecting Disney brand devotees on a physiological level.

These ideas are uplifting in the hearts and minds of the Disney devoted. Just as the followers of Islam visit the holy city of Mecca, Disney devotees travel to one of the many Disney theme parks to experience the Disney magic. Disney is a place of perfection, a capitalist’s creation of Heaven on Earth. Disney’s simulated environments

attempt to persuade visitors that they are on a pirate ship, in outer space, or on Tom

Sawyer’s Island. This unique collection of worlds that defy space and time confound reality and fantasy, creating a “magical world” that can only be experienced through the

Disney brand.

Fig. 9. Disney Castle. Orlando, Florida. (Disney Inc.).

Fig. 10. Mecca. Hejaz, Saudi Arabia. (islamtoday.ru).

Starting with its logo, Disney gives believers a peek into the “magical world of

Disney.” The uniquely designed logo speaks its own language; it symbolizes a fairy-tale world and focuses on providing quality entertainment to children. The logo is a rendering of the famous Cinderella Castle, with an arcing line overhead. This logo was purposely designed to evoke a sense of fantasy and imagination. The castle conjures up dreams of romance and magic, and has an irresistible draw for children from all over the world. The stylized version of the Walt Disney signature is part of Disney World’s identity. It gives both adults and children the message that they are allowed to have fun in this utopian fairy-tale world.

Walt Disney is the prophet for the Disney brand, and his signature is an invitation to the world he envisioned. He imagined his theme park as a place where everyone could be happy.

He describes it as … a place for parents and children to spend pleasant times in one another’s company; a place for teachers and pupils to discover greater ways of understanding and education. Here the older generation can recapture the nostalgia of days gone by, and the younger generation can savor the challenge of the future. Here will be the wonders of Nature and Man for all to see and understand … Disneyland will be something of a fair, and exhibition, a playground, a community center, a museum of living facts, and a showplace of beauty and magic. It will be filled with the accomplishments, the joys and hopes of the world we live in. And it will remind us and show us how to make those wonders part of our lives. (Nanus 28)

Another unique Disney marketing practice has been finding a way to groom its followers by cultivating long-term relationships with its consumers. Unlike Apple and

Nike, Disney works to connect to consumers when they are children and create a magical experience that continues into adulthood.

A part of this process relies on religious stereotypes and Orientalism intertwined within the Disney brand. Orientalism is a term used by art historians and cultural studies scholars for the depiction of aspects of Middle Eastern and East Asian cultures by writers and artists in the Western world. Many of these depictions are incorrect and can be considered offensive. In this examination of Disney, the Orientalist perspective is included, since this seems to be part of the framework through which the Disney brand has built its marketing strategy.

One example of how Disney does this is through its “Disney Princess” marketing strategy. This strategy happens to mimic the Muslim concept of the harem. A harem refers to the sphere of women who reside in what is usually a polygamous household.

Many Westerners imagine a harem as consisting of many sensual young women who spend their days lying around pools with oiled bodies. Their sole purpose in life is to

please the powerful man to whom they have given themselves. By the same token, the virginal and pure princesses depicted by Disney demonstrate many of these traits. In fact,

Stephen Monahan points out that “the Princess is an archetype[;] she represents the virgin[—]Eve before eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge” (1). The Quran instructs

Muslims to select partners who are good and pure: “Women of purity are for men of purity, and men of purity are for women of purity” (Maududi 24.26).

Fig. 11. Women of the Seraglio. (Narcisse-Virgile Diaz De La Pena).

Fig. 12. Disney Princesses. (Disney Inc.).

The strategy of incorporating the Disney princesses into the Disney brand has had substantial effects. It is possible that this aspect of Disney is the first introduction many children have to the brand, and it sets the tone for how the young generation not only interacts with the brand, but also how its members desire to emulate the princesses in their lives. This childhood desire to be a princess helps to create a branded thinking that mimics the ancient Muslim tradition of the harem.

To capitalize on this aspect of the brand, the Disney franchise has released a variety of toys and dolls featuring the Disney princesses; as well as sing-along videos, apparel, and home décor for children; and wedding dresses and wedding rings as they

move into adulthood. The Disney Bridal website notes:

Dreams come true. Today’s brides grew up believing in the dream … in the idea that, somewhere out there, her Prince [C]harming awaits. Whether it’s the timeless grace of Cinderella, the adventurous spirit of Jasmine[,] or the independent nature of Tiana, every bride has a favorite Disney Princess character, one she connects with in a very personal way. Disney Fairy Tale Weddings brings her dreams to life with a fantasy collection designed to connect with every bride’s inner princess.

Fig. 13. Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Advertisement.

Fig. 14. Disney Princess Diamond Engagement Rings.

These examples demonstrate the message that Disney uses to create an army of brand advocates by connecting their childhood fantasies with their adult aspirations. The connection and devotion to this Disney brand is expressed in ways that only true believers can comprehend. As with some of Apple’s devoted, Disney’s also share their expressions of faith through tattooing. Annfaye Kao, from Taichung, Taiwan, remarks:

It reminded me of my childhood and my love for Snow White as she is so beautiful. As a child, I used to imagine I was Snow White in a fairytale so it seemed like a good thing to have tattooed on my back. Snow White is a part of my childhood and therefore me, so I’m happy I will have it on me forever—it reminds me of my princess dream. It took three months to finish it as it was so detailed. It hurt really badly to get a full one on my whole back. At times, I was in such pain that I wanted to hurry it up, but luckily I didn’t give up and got it finished. (Rawi 1)

Fig. 15. Annfaye Kao.

Another anonymous Disney follower described on disneyink.tumblr.com the way in which

Disney helps to keep her “inner child alive”:

Disney is literally the only thing I’m deeply passionate about. I love Disney with every fiber of my being. It’s the only thing that truly makes me happy[,] and it’s the only thing that will always keep my inner child alive. I don’t think anybody will ever understand how Disney has made such a huge impact in my life and how much it absolutely means the whole world to me. (Fuck Yeah, Disney Tattoos)

Fig.16. Anonymous Disney Follower. (fuckyeahdisneytattoos.tumblr.com).

Disney’s impact on its devotees is great. It is a brand that permeates all aspects of life: from Snow White and ABC television to wedding rings and ESPN, Disney has integrated its brand into the lives of its customers and advocates.

According to David Lyon, “by the end of the twentieth century, Disney had become a byword for commercial culture, a symbol for animated cartoon lives, a model for tourist activities, and a mode of imagination” (3). In the book The Disney Way, Max

Byfuglin speculates on the elements that underpin Disney’s success.

Walt Disney made a practice of envisioning the untried and impossible … he understood that success comes from the entire team and is enhanced by solid partnerships … [He] refused to follow the paths of others and … he was a master at creating detailed plans that not only ensured results but inspired the entire team to act: Dream, Believe, Dare, Do. The result: “the happiest place on earth,” where guests return year after year to relive the magic that Disney created. (1)

Lyon also comments on the universality of the Disney brand:

There can be little doubt that Disney’s influence is universal. Wherever it is possible to see a television or a cinema screen, Disney characters will not be strangers. And in more and more world tourist destinations, a Disney theme park is within reach. (3)

There is a Disney World in Florida, and there are Disneylands in Tokyo, Paris, Hong

Kong, and California. An additional Disneyland will open in Shanghai in 2016.

Each Disney product invokes the memories of the visitor’s childhood, whether it is through Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Cinderella, or more recently, Star Wars. Disney captures the heart by asking its followers to “wish upon a star” and to “Think, Believe,

Dream, and Dare.” The brand is built upon the hope of something special, both worldly and mystical—“fireflies and pixie dust.” These magical places are not only built to excite the visitor at the theme park, but also to inspire the souls of the devoted. Walt Disney once said, “If you dream it, you can do it.” This is a theme that spells out the goal of the brand: to encourage and uplift all who interact with Disney products.

Spirit = Uplifting = Disney

Disney: “The most magical place on Earth,” a place “Where dreams come true.”

Chapter V

Conclusion

Branding and advertising have transformed a computer, an amusement park, and a shoe from common items or attractions into symbols of consumption for their respective creators, Apple, Disney, and Nike. These brands focus on the “reason to believe”; they give the consumer the sacrament or ritual of purchasing, and their marketing strategies strive to keep their brand followers faithful. Thus, Apple, Disney, and Nike have become religions through their design structure and marketing practices.

In the 1970s, the United States began to experience, in an acute fashion, what

Michael de Certeau calls “the devaluation of belief[s]” (178). As Goldman and Papson note, “this devaluation of beliefs has been a product of a long historical process” (147) in which beliefs were “harnessed” and “captured” so that they could be “transferred” to emerging institutions; “for example, beliefs lodged in churches were transferred to secular institutions” (147). This transfer of belief and meaning to the service of marketers has created unique brand relationships through which brands have become religions.

Apple, Nike, and Disney have become more than the brand names of the products that we buy; they have become integrated into our lives in ways that can only be categorized as religious. Like religion, these companies have used branding and marketing strategies to create their own messages, prophets, and devotees. These brand religions have devotees who range from casual consumers to brand fanatics. This loyalty to the brand has evolved from each company’s branding strategies, organizational behaviors, and operational procedures. These companies have connected with their

consumers to the extent that these customers exhibit brand loyalty that manifests itself as deep religious devotion. The brands, like religion, conform to a particular set of customs and traditions, which distinguish them as unique nations of brand advocates.

This has been achieved because the three companies worked within the established framework of religion and harnessed the power of consumerism to create their own unique religions by mimicry and through the use of established religious elements from Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and Greek mythology. Each of these brands was shown to focus on one of the basic objectives of most religious teachings—to cleanse the human mind, body, or soul from all that can potentially taint them. These brands use their customs, traditions, and rituals to convert consumers using the same approach.

The world of branding is increasingly inspired by the world of religion. Once trusted as a consistent source of structure and direction, religion is now often an object of a great cynicism and rejection. Consumer-brand religions now fill this void for many and capitalize on the human need to be a part of something greater. Today’s top brands have created a place for consumers to congregate and commune. Apple, Nike, and Disney’s marketing strategies have incorporated the tenets of religion so powerfully that the brands have become more than just brands—they are religions.

Mind = Knowledge = Apple = Applism

Body = Fitness = Nike = Nikology

Spirit = Uplifting = Disney = Dislamtm

Epilogue

You want what you don't have, so you kill to get it. You long for what others have, and can't afford it, so you start a fight to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it. (Book of James 4:2)

Though brands, as religions, seem like a smart business decision and a profitable one, I don’t believe this is healthy. If brands can create faith and devotion without a morality at their center, then what is the true cost to society? Since brands have borrowed aspects of religion to sell products, and in some cases, can potentially replace the need for religion in people’s lives, is there a need for concern?

There was another point in time where the idea of religion and religious devotion was not seen as an important aspect of society and was even questioned. However, the idea of education, morality, and ethical reasoning was still at the core of the

Enlightenment.

The Age of Enlightenment was the philosophical, intellectual, and cultural movement that transformed Europe during the eighteenth century. During this age of reason, people began to use rationality as a tool with which to explore the world, and to move away from the superstition and fears that were characteristic of the Middle Ages.

There were no laws regarding personal liberties or rights, and many feared religious persecution at the hands of an unmerciful God or the often brutal Church. The Middle

Ages was an era marked with resolute religious devotion, cruelty, and a strict hierarchical social structure. In contrast, the Enlightenment emphasized independent thought in the

diverse fields of mathematics, astronomy, physics, politics, economics, philosophy, and medicine. Natural law served as the foundation for this new approach to academic.

Rousseau examined the possibility of a different destiny for people educated in rational moral thought that encouraged the nurturing of mankind’s natural virtue.

Within marketing and branding, there is no functional need for rational moral thought as long as we know the purchase price and product quality. (It is important to note Apple, Nike and Disney have face allegations of running sweatshops and breaking child labor laws.)

Just as Voltaire, Rousseau Helvetius, and Montesquieu where the great thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment, are Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, Mark Parker, and Robert Igor the great thinkers in the Age of Consumption?

In April 2010, Fast Company magazine sponsored a conference called Innovation

Uncensored. One of the featured speakers was Nike president and CEO Mark Parker.

Parker told a story about a call he received from Steve Jobs shortly after he became CEO.

Parker asked Jobs if he had any advice for him. “Well, just one thing,” said Jobs. “Nike makes some of the best products in the world. Products that you lust after. Absolutely beautiful, stunning products. But you also make a lot of crap. Just get rid of the crappy stuff and focus on the good stuff.” (Jobs)

So it seems that as long as “good stuff” is being sold, then the idea of a moral center is not required.

After Steve Job’s died, Tim Cook was appointed CEO of Apple. He, along with

Disney’s current chairman and chief executive Robert Iger, sit on the board of Nike Inc.

with Mark Parker, Nike’s CEO. As these business/religious leaders meet, do they consider the impact that their brands truly have on society? Do they have a moral responsibility to do so?

As I stated at the start of this paper, by relying on widespread illiteracy about religion, brands can imitate only the aspects of religion that best sell their respective brands to the widest possible audience. This is important to note, because “One of the most troubling and urgent consequences of religious illiteracy is that it often fuels prejudice and antagonism” (Diane Moore 1). However, in the world of marketing, these religious misconceptions actually help to form the basis of brand strategies and marketing platforms.

The high levels of religious illiteracy and the lack of a spiritual, moral, or ethical center could be problematic as we move forward over time, as our priority becomes more focused on profit and not on people.

How does this affect us culturally on a global scale over time? Is this business model healthy for us? How does this affect future generations and do we have an ethical responsibility to intervene?

There is an opportunity for future research investigating how religions have and can evolve given this shift from God to Goods. Just as marketers have borrowed from religion, what can religions learn from brands? Does there need to be an integrated marketing strategy for the world’s religions? Does religious thought need a brand campaign to compete? With the secularization of society, is there a declining confidence

in religiosity? What is the impact of this decline or is this just the natural evolution or devolution of religion?

To sum up, the shift from God to Goods leaves many questions unanswered concerning the future health of our global society and of the long-term impacts of such capitalist/materialistic doctrines on the development of a common humanity. The divide between those who have and those who do not has widened through branding, and, as with all societies who segregate in one form or another, history tells us that success depends on integration rather than segregation and difference. The recent financial crisis has highlighted the instability in the Age of Consumerism, and as a species, we need to shift our persepctive in order to survive. My personal preference would be for the Fall of the Age of Consumerism and the onset of the Age of Humanity without the mid-stage

Age of Anarchy.

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