Taboos, morality and marketing: towards a conceptual model and illustration

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on the anthropological literature, this paper aims to develop a model of taboos (morality) that applies to the marketing, consumer behaviour and consumption contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is mainly conceptual but illustrates the general premises of the model with a case study of “dark” tourism and the contemporary marketing of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Findings

The paper shows that even extreme taboos can be commodified and traded-off, and that not even the horrific deaths and large-scale suffering that occurred at Auschwitz are “sacred”. This can occur through reframing and seeing the same taboo through different national lens.

Research limitations/implications

Questions pertaining to consumer morality are relative rather than universalistic, and even the most extreme cases of taboo can still be successfully marketed.

Originality/value

The paper is among the first to attempt to conceptually design a model and then explain the taboo process as it applies to a marketing and consumption context.

Citation

Michelson, G. and Miller, R. (2019), "Taboos, morality and marketing: towards a conceptual model and illustration", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 393-400. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-03-2018-2621