Page 49 - The Disneyization of Society

THE DISNEYIZATION OF SOCIETY

to support two or more stories. Regarding the overall tone of the store, the authors
write: ‘Whereas the old store animated customers through nostalgic, cozy secu-
40 rity, the new store embeds them in a Hollywood-dream playroom permeated by
energy and excitement with a sophisticated, contemporary aesthetic’. 90 The new
store, like many of the lavishly themed outfitters previously mentioned, has
become a destination in itself.
Sometimes, the theme can be controversial. In May 2000, the National Rifle
Association in the USA announced plans for a ‘total shooting sports’ themed store
in New York’s Times Square, which would also include a themed restaurant.
According to an Association’s representative, the store would provide a ‘total
shooting sports and sporting goods experience’. However, the emphasis on
guns was inconsistent with the kind of image the denizens of the cleaned-up
Times Square wanted to convey and representatives of the improvement district
claimed it was harking back to an environment at Times Square they had sought
to eradicate. 91

Brand narratives
Brand theming occurs when the brand forms a theme in itself. Examples of brand
theming are: the Disney Stores, in which the goods for sale and the overall store
are entirely themed on Disney films, characters, and theme parks; the Coca-Cola
stores; Lego Imagination Center; and the Niketowns.
The Niketowns are particularly interesting and one of the stores, Niketown
Chicago, has been the focus of two separate ethnographies. 92 Discussing the
New York City store, Goldberger has written:

the merchandise is secondary to the experience of being in this store, an experience that bears more
than a passing resemblance to a visit to a theme park. Niketown is a fantasy environment, one part nos-
talgia to two parts high tech, and it exists to bedazzle the consumer, to give its merchandise sex appeal
and establish Nike as the essence not just of athletic wear but also of our culture and way of life. 93

The Niketowns are temples for the celebration of the brand. They draw upon two
motifs in order to get across their brand identity: the narrative of a gymnasium 94
and of a museum. 95 Sherry quotes from a Niketown Chicago press release that
among other features, the store would have ‘the museum quality of the
96
Smithsonian Institution’. Indeed, the deliberate use of a museum approach to pre-
senting merchandise, most notably by showcasing trainers and other Nike goods in
display cases and interspersing these displays with exhibits of valuable sporting
memorabilia, causes considerable confusion among shoppers who are often uncer-
tain about whether they should pay an entrance fee and whether items are actually
for sale. They are for sale, though many potential customers realize that they can
purchase items more cheaply elsewhere. The Niketowns, in their adoption of a
museum mode of representing their wares, are in a sense acting as showcases for
Nike wear and less as stores in the traditional sense. Perhaps this is part of the