Red Tsars and Iron Ladies: Exploring the role of marketing forces in the construction of political heroism

Abstract

Considering the inherently divisive legacy of political (anti)heroes, marketing scholars have paid limited attention to the construction of heroic political profiles and institutions. Accordingly, this study seeks to provide an original and thorough analysis on how two 20th century political (anti)heroes have been manufactured and shaped through early and contemporary forms of marketing practice. Adopting a historical perspective and focussing on the political profiles of Joseph Stalin and Margaret Thatcher, the aim of the paper is threefold. Firstly, we show the involvement of propaganda and marketing practice behind the emergence of heroic profiles and we highlight their impact to the construction of hero institutions. Secondly, we critically discuss the role of State propaganda and marketing forces in the shaping, maintenance and communication of collective heroic discourses aiming to strengthen the ideological underpinnings of these heroic institutions. Finally, we provide novel insights on the underexamined role of marketing practice as agent of social-political change behind the rise of political forces that shape government policy, marketplaces and consumer cultures.