MKTG90049 · Marketing, Society and Sustainability
Critiques of Marketing and the Problem of Consumption
Week 3 introduces critical marketing studies — the dark side of marketing — and the deep problem of consumption. It covers the foundational critical questions (does the system meet real needs? is the consumer sovereign?), the three harms of cultural appropriation, consumer activism (boycott, buycott, selective patronage) and Parvatiyar & Sheth's (2023) mindful consumption.
In assessment it powers a long-answer teardown of a corporate sustainability claim (is this genuine change or purpose/greenwashing?) and the critical-thinking lens the group report uses to find the gaps in an industry's current practice.
What this chapter covers
- 01Critical marketing studies: exposing marketing's dark side and its interplay with society
- 02Foundational critical questions: does the system meet real needs (vs Maslow)? is the consumer sovereign? follow the money
- 03Key critical issues: consumer exclusion/discrimination, gender/sexism, colonialism, cultural appropriation
- 04Three harms of cultural appropriation: disconnection, distortion, dispossession
- 05Consumer activism (Handelman & Weijo 2022): boycott, buycott, selective patronage, alternative market practices, watchdogs
- 06Benefits vs limitations of activism: low barriers and solidarity vs slacktivism and co-optation
- 07Mindful consumption (Parvatiyar & Sheth 2023): temperance over acquisitive/repetitive/aspirational consumption; caring for self, community, nature
Long answer: critique a beverage brand's sustainability program and map activist responses
- +8Apply the critical questions (about 8 marks). Interrogate the program: does it meet real human needs or manufacture demand? Is the consumer sovereign or is responsibility being shifted onto them? Follow the money — who benefits from the sustainability messaging, and who pays the environmental cost? Name consumer exclusion or externalised harm where relevant.
- +8Test for washing (about 8 marks). Weigh evidence of genuine change (binding targets, verified progress, structural redesign) against purpose-/greenwashing signals (vague pledges, no accountability, marketing spend exceeding action). Use the who-benefits/who-pays cheat-sheet to reach a balanced judgement rather than a reflex 'it's all greenwashing'.
- +8Map consumer-activism responses (about 8 marks). Give distinct tactics: boycott (withhold purchase to pressure the firm), buycott (reward a genuinely better competitor), selective patronage (steer spending toward responsible producers), alternative market practices (refill, second-hand), and watchdog scrutiny. Note each tactic's limitation (slacktivism, co-optation).
- +4Conclude with a reasoned stance (about 4 marks). State whether the program is credible on the evidence and what would make it more so; tie back to mindful consumption — reducing demand, not just cleaning up supply. Keep to ~550 words.
Key terms
- Critical marketing studies
- A perspective that highlights the dark side of marketing theory and practice, focuses on the interplay between marketing and society, and aims at societal change — asking whether the marketing system truly serves people rather than just firms.
- Consumer sovereignty (critique)
- The claim that consumers rule the market through their choices. Critical marketing questions it: choices are shaped, constrained and sometimes manufactured, so the 'sovereign consumer' can be more ideal than reality.
- Three harms of cultural appropriation
- Disconnection (bypassing the historical source community), distortion (misrepresenting cultural elements), and dispossession (unfairly profiting from a community's cultural elements). Appropriation risks boycotts and backlash.
- Boycott vs buycott
- A boycott withholds purchases to pressure a firm to change; a buycott deliberately buys to support a firm whose values you endorse (its opposite). Both are consumer-activism tactics and can occur in response to the same controversy.
- Selective patronage
- Steering spending toward preferred businesses (for example minority-owned firms, as in Buy-Black movements) as a form of consumer activism — a positive-choice tactic distinct from boycotting.
- Mindful consumption (Parvatiyar & Sheth 2023)
- Consuming with awareness of effects on personal health, societal wellbeing and ecosystems, centred on temperance — not rejecting consumption but making it optimal and value-consistent. It curbs acquisitive, repetitive and aspirational consumption and is reinforced by caring for self, community and nature.
Critiques of Marketing and the Problem of Consumption FAQ
What is 'critical marketing' and how is it different from normal marketing?
Normal (managerial) marketing asks how to satisfy customers profitably. Critical marketing steps back and asks whether the marketing system is good for society at all — whether it meets real human needs, whether the consumer is genuinely sovereign, who benefits and who pays, and who is excluded. It deliberately looks at marketing's dark side (exclusion, stereotyping, cultural appropriation, manufactured demand) with the aim of societal change, and it is the lens the group report uses to find gaps in an industry's current practice.
What are the three harms of cultural appropriation?
Disconnection — using a culture's elements while bypassing the historical source community; distortion — misrepresenting those elements and the people they belong to; and dispossession — unfairly profiting from a source community's cultural property. Cultural appropriation is the unacknowledged or inappropriate use of one culture's elements by a usually more powerful culture, and it risks anti-brand campaigns, boycotts and backlash.
What is the difference between a boycott and a buycott?
A boycott is refusing to buy — withholding your patronage to pressure a firm to change. A buycott is the opposite: deliberately buying from a firm to reward and support its values. The same controversy can trigger both at once (some consumers boycott a brand while others counter-buycott it). Both are forms of consumer activism, alongside selective patronage, alternative market practices (refill, second-hand) and watchdog organisations.
Can AI help me critique marketing for MKTG90049?
Yes, as a study aid. Sia can walk you through the critical questions, help you weigh genuine change against greenwashing on the evidence, and check that your activism tactics are distinct. Give it a sustainability claim and ask it to structure a balanced critique step by step. It does not write your graded report or exam answer, and University of Melbourne academic-integrity rules apply.
Exam move
Week 3 is about learning to argue both sides. Memorise the critical questions (real needs? consumer sovereignty? follow the money?), the three harms of cultural appropriation, and the consumer-activism tactics with their limitations. Practise the balanced-critique move: take any corporate sustainability claim, interrogate it critically, weigh evidence of genuine change against washing signals, then map how consumers could respond — and reach a defended judgement rather than reflexive cynicism. This lens also feeds the group report's gap analysis, so it is worth extra rehearsal. Connect everything back to mindful consumption (reducing demand, not just cleaning up supply). When you catch yourself giving a one-sided answer, ask Sia for the counter-argument and a fresh claim to critique; it teaches the method and never does your graded work. Confirm assessment details on Canvas.
Working through Critiques of Marketing and the Problem of Consumption in MKTG90049? Sia is AskSia’s AI Marketing tutor — ask any MKTG90049 Critiques of Marketing and the Problem of Consumption question and get a clear, step-by-step explanation grounded in how MKTG90049 is taught and assessed. Read this chapter free, then take your hardest questions to Sia.
