Mobility of cultural meaning

Research the business practice of using “bribes” in Middle Eastern cultures.

Explain how this Western concept (bribe) does not take on a pejorative meaning among Arabs.

Select a popular slogan from an American product and translate it into a foreign language of your choice. Identify at least three points of confusion regarding the translation. Focus not only on semantics and phonology, but also on cultural translation issues.

Conduct an in-depth interview with a consumer from your parent’s generation. Ask questions about the kinds of gifts they gave their children for their birthdays. Try to identify indirectly the cultural meaning that resides in their exchange rituals.

Select one specific value from your culturally constituted world (e.g., individuality, freedom, ambition, responsibility) and trace its movement from society to consumer goods, all the way to consumers.

Draw on McCracken’s framework for the mobility of cultural meaning. Identify marketing activities and elements of the fashion system that transfer your selected value to consumer products. Select various rituals that subsequently transfer this meaning to individual consumers.

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