'Culture is everything we don't have to do. We have to eat but we don't have to have cuisines like Big Macs or Sushi. We have to cover ourselves against the weather but we don't have to be concerned whether we put on Levi's or Yves Saint Laurent. They 'have to' activities are functional and the 'don't have to' stylistic - The main basis on which we make choices is in terms of stylistic differences.'
Consumer Culture is focused on the selling of consumer goods and then spending of consumer money. It means that a large part of what we do, value and how we are defined revolves around the things that you consume. We are consistently shown advertisement and brands every day that force us to consume the things we like e.g. an advertisement for Starbucks makes US the consumers want to buy the product. Consumer Culture is considered oppressive and manipulative as companies use their branding to attract the consumers to buy the products they offer, therefore creating profit and money for the company.
Its what the brand means to the consumer that matters most, we as consumers recognise logo's that could have meaning e.g. Coca Cola usually reminds people of Christmas and encourages them to purchase the product as a time to enjoy with friends and family. A brand is a visual, emotional, rational image that you associate with a company or product, it has an extremely powerful impact on our beliefs, behaviour and emotion.
