Consumer Nationalism and Barr's Irn-Bru in Scotland

This book connects a detailed analysis of Irn-Bru's brand identity over time to theories of national identity, consumer studies, and banal nationalism. It situates the commercial history of Barr's Irn-Bru in a transnational context and shows how Irn-Bru has become a symbol of Scotland through processes of rewriting, reframing and institutionalized forgetting, linking the consumption of what began as a trans-national generic product to a specific national community. As such, Leishman presents a longitudinal, cross-disciplinary approach to analysing branding and advertising as multi-modal forms of discourse, in order to underline the role of commercial, non-state actors and popular consumerism in the phenomenon of banal nationalism. It will be of interest to students and scholars researching nationalism, consumption, and Scottish studies.

First ever in-depth commercial history of Scotland's most iconic brand and its transnational origins Provides a detailed analysis of the brand's trajectory and nation-building discourses drawing on wide variety of international sources independent archive research, vintage advertising, government reports, industrial histories Contextualizes analysis of advertising campaigns spanning three centuries (late 19th Century, 20th Century, early 21st Century) to bring to light the lasting impact of the brand on Scottish national identity

Autorentext

David Leishman is Senior Lecturer in Applied English at Grenoble Alpes University, France.

Klappentext

This book connects a detailed analysis of Irn-Brüs brand identity over time to theories of national identity, consumer studies, and banal nationalism. It situates the commercial history of Barr s Irn-Bru in a transnational context and shows how Irn-Bru has become a symbol of Scotland through processes of rewriting, reframing and institutionalized forgetting, linking the consumption of what began as a trans-national generic product to a specific national community. As such, Leishman presents a longitudinal, cross-disciplinary approach to analysing branding and advertising as multi-modal forms of discourse, in order to underline the role of commercial, non-state actors and popular consumerism in the phenomenon of banal nationalism. It will be of interest to students and scholars researching nationalism, consumption, and Scottish studies.

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2. The Power of Origins.- 3. From Girders: Discourses of National Strength.- 4. Consumer Nationalism in Popular and Material Culture.- 5. Scotland's Other: Defining Oppositional Identities.- 6. Conclusion