Consumption of Two Popular Brands in Mean Girls
Mean Girls (2004) follows the journey of sixteen year old Cady (Lindsay Lohan) in her first year at a public school in suburban America - a stark contrast to the previous twelve years of her life: being homeschooled in Africa. Cady moves to Evanston, Illinois and soon finds herself in with 'The Plastics ', the "teen royalty" of Northshore High School, led by the 'Queen Bee ', Regina George (Rachel McAdams).
The Plastics in Mean Girls are an example of a neo-tribe, as evidenced by Cady 's observation that "Having lunch with The Plastics was like leaving the actual world and entering 'Girl World '. And Girl World had a lot of rules." (Maffesoli in Saren, M. 2006, p122) Grouped together by their physical attractiveness, economic wealth and perceived popularity, The Plastics are recognised by themselves and by the other students. We also see proxemics occurring when Gretchen (Lacey Chabert) tries even harder to fit in with the group despite Regina 's increasing nastiness towards her. "She knew it was better to be in The Plastics, hating life, than to not be in at all. Because being with The Plastics was like being famous." Having found membership within the group, Gretchen is desperate to retain this even though it is currently making her unhappy.
As with many films targeted at a young audience, Mean Girls is rife with product placement and the portrayal of popular brands, as consumed by the neo-tribe of The Plastics. I am going to discuss the portrayal of the Diet Coke soft drink brand and the luxury goods brand Fendi, and how their portrayal in this movie has influenced my consumption and aspired consumption of these products respectively.
Diet Coke
Diet Coke, a sub-brand of Coca-Cola, is shown on at least five different occasions in Mean Girls, on the trays of students eating lunch in the cafeteria. By the time Cady has been invited to sit with the plastics, after just three days at school, there is a can of Diet Coke on her lunchtray, just like the
The Plastics in Mean Girls are an example of a neo-tribe, as evidenced by Cady 's observation that "Having lunch with The Plastics was like leaving the actual world and entering 'Girl World '. And Girl World had a lot of rules." (Maffesoli in Saren, M. 2006, p122) Grouped together by their physical attractiveness, economic wealth and perceived popularity, The Plastics are recognised by themselves and by the other students. We also see proxemics occurring when Gretchen (Lacey Chabert) tries even harder to fit in with the group despite Regina 's increasing nastiness towards her. "She knew it was better to be in The Plastics, hating life, than to not be in at all. Because being with The Plastics was like being famous." Having found membership within the group, Gretchen is desperate to retain this even though it is currently making her unhappy.
As with many films targeted at a young audience, Mean Girls is rife with product placement and the portrayal of popular brands, as consumed by the neo-tribe of The Plastics. I am going to discuss the portrayal of the Diet Coke soft drink brand and the luxury goods brand Fendi, and how their portrayal in this movie has influenced my consumption and aspired consumption of these products respectively.
Diet Coke
Diet Coke, a sub-brand of Coca-Cola, is shown on at least five different occasions in Mean Girls, on the trays of students eating lunch in the cafeteria. By the time Cady has been invited to sit with the plastics, after just three days at school, there is a can of Diet Coke on her lunchtray, just like the
References: Michaels, L., Shimkin, T., Rosner, L. and Messick, J. (Producers) & Waters, M. (Director) (2004) Mean Girls [Motion picture]. United States and Canada: SNL Studios and Paramount Pictures. Saren, M. (2006) Marketing Graffiti: The View from the Street (First Edition) Burlington, Massachusetts, United States of America:Butterworth Heinemann. The Coca-Cola Company (2012) Diet Coke. Retrieved April 20, 2012 from http://m.dietcoke.com/