ABSTRACT
Marketing today relies heavily on creating and maintaining an ‘image’. This is reflected, for example, in the popularity of branded and designer goods, in product endorsement by celebrities, as well as merchandising by football clubs and other sporting concerns. In addition, characters have come to have a value of their own. Associating products with Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Lara Croft, David Beckham or Tiger Woods ensures sales, as does the use of the WWF’s1 panda. Celebrities such as Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones carefully cultivate and maintain an image in the public consciousness. Pop groups and football teams make considerable sums from the sale of memorabilia, as well as from their music or prowess on the field. Image therefore comprises both a powerful marketing tool and creates a new product.
