ABSTRACT
Broadly speaking, sport, and its associated events, stars and commodities, are forms of communication. The interest in, and success of, communication, including advertising, through sport can be explained, in part at least, by its powerful and pervasive symbolic efficacy. However, to date there has been little analysis of the relationship between the representational aspects of sport advertising and the equally important practice of sport consumption; that is, how particular sporting commodities are used within everyday lifestyle. This chapter aims to analyze more precisely the social context and ramifications of the symbolic efficacy of sport by focusing on the consumption and uses of sporting goods. More specifically, using France as a case study, I attempt to provide some rare empirical data. However, although France serves as the site of analysis we cannot ignore the impact of globalization and its role in shaping consumer markets and the meaning of commodities in everyday life. To this extent France is one of many “global locals.”
