It’s no joke: The critical power of a laughing chorus (original) (raw)

Abstract

There is no known time in history, nor known human community without laughter. Laughter imbues our social life. Laughter dominates our daily interactions, perhaps more visibly so on social media, where it is now a weapon wielded frequently against marketers. Yet, marketing theory paid little attention to laughter as a social phenomenon or a collective consumer (re)action. This article begins to address this neglect through an integrative review of theories of laughter and specifically by introducing Mikhail Bakhtin’s notion of a laughing chorus. I engage the notion as a way to understand the internet publics’ rowdy laughter directed at marketing. I show that seemingly nihilistic, irresponsible and discordant laughter is nonetheless an efficacious and notably polyvocal social commentary. To probe further the power of a laughing chorus, I draw on the works of Henri Bergson and Alenka Zupancic and elaborate on laughter as a form of expression that does not depend on reason and argument...

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  70. Olga Kravets is a Senior Lecturer at Royal Holloway University of London and holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research focuses on critical marketing studies and politics of consumer culture. She has been a co-organiser of Consumption, Markets, and Culture Doctoral Seminar since 2009 and she co-edited The SAGE Handbook of Consumer Culture. Her research was published in Journal of Marketing, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Marketing Management, Ephemera, Journal of Material Culture, Business History Review and edited books. She is a visiting professor at Bilkent University, Turkey.

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What explains the shift in consumer response to corporate crises on social media?add

The paper reveals that a 'laughing chorus' emerges as a collective consumer response, generating mockery and satire during corporate crises, exemplified by incidents such as the United Airlines event in April 2017.

How does a 'laughing chorus' function as a mode of popular critique?add

The study posits that laughter operates through the logic of repetition, exposing incongruities and societal rigidities, thus serving as a form of polemic without requiring rational discourse.

What methodology was used to analyze laughter as a social phenomenon in marketing?add

The research employed a cultural studies approach, utilizing textual analysis of social media outputs surrounding corporate incidents to identify patterns and themes in consumer laughter.

When did insights about laughter's impact on culture and marketing emerge?add

Historical discussions on laughter date back to ancient philosophical texts, underscoring its complex role in social life and consumer culture, especially highlighted in contemporary digital interactions.

How does humor challenge traditional marketing narratives?add

The analysis illustrates that humor in online discourse disrupts dominant marketing narratives by amplifying critiques that reveal the absurdities within corporate messaging and consumer identity.