Abstract
This chapter discusses semiotics of many anti-branding images created by brand haters . Anti-branding semiotics are strong reflections of consumer brand hate. In this chapter, I have revealed the tacit semiotic rules used by brand haters. The chapter provides a broad theoretical discussion about the semiotic characteristics of branding and consumer-generated anti-branding as well as digital anti-branding discourse. The chapter then investigates consumer anti-branding semiotics by examining a sample of anti-branding images targeted at valuable corporate brands. It seems brand haters usually prefer red and black colors (“fire and brimstone” a color codification of Hell according to religious references), rebranding corporate brand names and slogans by embedding negative words and signs, thus creating a negative representation of those brands. I discussed my interviews with consumers and their way of decoding such brand hate semiotics. The chapter discussions indicated that anti-branding semiotic representations with dark-humor and clear messages can create the most impact on consumers, while an aggressive but intriguing message have some potential to influence consumers.
This chapter is modified from my original work published by Marketing Theory SAGE Publication as follows: “A Semiotic Analysis of Consumer-Generated Antibranding.” Marketing Theory, June 2015, Vol. 15, No. 2, pages 243–264.
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Kucuk, S.U. (2019). Semiotics of Brand Hate. In: Brand Hate. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00380-7_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00380-7_5
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