Youth Now React To Commercial Culture By Creating Commercial Culture

At the Polygamous Wedding conference in New Orleans on Oct 26, Rob Walker talked about something he noticed in youth culture which has never existed before. In the past youth has rebelled and rejected commercial culture but the New York Times Magazine writer believes that for the first time youth have responded to commercial culture by creating their own commercial culture.

They have hijacked the language and tools of branding and marketing for their own ends. He argues that this isn’t a rejection, it’s a threat. It’s consistent with the idea of the end of mass-consumerism but underneath this notion this movement reflects how widely people have accepted and internalized the grammar of branding and know how to do it.

He used examples of brands like The Hundreds and Barking Irons as examples of this counter-culture and suggested that today, instead of being in a band or writing a novel, the youth make brands.

Rob Walker’s Murketing Blog