From A to B is just not enough. Car brands as entertainment supersystems

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyse two car brands, Volvo and Toyota, using the concept of the “supersystem of entertainment” in the Marsha Kinder approach. In both companies, people respon-sible for marketing create the image of the brand using analogous strategies as in the case of promo-ting products of popular culture. The cars exceed the frame of the commodity and in the process of “mediation of things” they become brands, culture products, even heroes. Scandinavian mythology and design, Japanese anime and kaizen philosophy, Hollywood productions and cartoon characters mix with the entire axiological and cultural system that is the core of the modern car brand. Ap-plying narrative marketing and using various media platforms, brands connect elements of nation, culture, responsibility and other social values, to stand out from other brands. These treatments not only strengthen the relationship between the brand and consumer. They make it necessary to look at contemporary manufactured vehicles as elements of society that bring commercial and media success for companies.