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Title | Objects of Desire: The Role of Product Design in Revising Contested Cultural Meanings |
Publication Type | Journal Articles |
Year of Publication | 2017 |
Authors | Wilner, SJS, Huff, A |
Journal | Journal of Marketing Management |
Volume | 33 |
Issue | 3-4 |
Pagination | 244-271 |
Date Published | 2017 |
Keywords | Marketing, MBA |
Abstract | We explore the link between product design and market legitimation by examining the evolution of a product market that has been shrouded by cultural taboo. Conducting media analysis and selected visual audits of sex toys over a recent 25-year period, we find that innovations in the design of these products – materials, form and function – can facilitate evolution of a mainstream market. Producers can facilitate legitimation by introducing innovative designs that significantly contradict existing cultural meanings associated with the category. Furthermore, when the aesthetic and functional aspects of a new product design are aligned with cultural norms, we find that mainstream media reframe the products in ways that signal social acceptance. |
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