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Journal of Advertising, vol. 36, no. 3 (Fall 2007), pp. 187202

2007 American Academy of Advertising. All rights reserved

ISSN 0091-3367 / 2007 $9.50 + 0.00

DOI 10.2753/JOA0091-3367360303

Advertising as a practice has been greatly affected by recent

trends in technology and media. Beyond the traditional notions

of corporate-generated, paid, dissemination of one-to-many

marketing messages, new technologies allow for more per-

sonal, targeted communications, as well as increased consumer

participation in the creation of marketing and brand-related

information (Cappo 2003; Jaffe 2005). Amidst the cacophony

of brand-related voices vying for attention, consumers are

increasingly revealing themselves to be interested in, and

more than capable of, contributing to the brand promoting

conversation (Garfield 2005; Jaffe 2005; Wipperfurth 2005).

Consumers, acting independently of marketers and advertis-

ers, have started creating and disseminating documents that

strongly resemble in form and intent ads for the brands that

they love (Flight 2005; Kahney 2004b). Many are for brandswith strong communal aspects (Ives 2004).

Consumer-generated content has been created by fans of the

Apple iPod, Coca-Cola, Firefox (Web browser), Molson (beer),

Nike, and Volkswagen, among other brands. Such customer

evangelism goes by many names, including homebrew ads

(Kahney 2004b), folk ads (OGuinn 2003), open source

branding (Garfield 2005), and vigilante marketing (Ives

2004). We prefer the term vigilante marketingas it most accu-

rately captures the phenomenon. Merriam-Webster (2006) de-

fines a vigilante as a self-appointed doer of justice. Consumers

creating such content are acting as self-appointed promoters

of the brand and often have firm convictions regarding what

is right and wrong for it. We thus define vigilante marking as

unpaid advertising and marketing efforts, including one-to-one, one-

to-many, and many-to-many commercially oriented communications

undertaken by brand loyalists on behalf of the brand. Some of these

creations rival, in terms of professionalism and creativity, the

official ads produced for these brands (Ives 2004).Advertising

Age columnist Bob Garfield labeled George Masters unsolic-

ited (and unpaid) homebrew commercial for the Apple iPod

a Masterpiece (Garfield 2005, p. 1). Many of these creations

spread rapidly via e-mail, without revealing their authorship

and offering little clue as to whether or not they are official

corporate content.While not, strictly speaking, falling into the category o

advertising as traditionally defined (because corporate fund

are not expended for their creation or dissemination), such

creations are highly relevant to advertisers for several reasons

First, they provide evidence of consumer perceptions of brands

and brand attributes. Second, they are vivid examples of the

most compelling marketing messages from the perspective

of brand loyalists. Third, and perhaps most significantly

they are only going to increase in frequency and prominence

(Jaffe 2005). Given wider trends in on-line communication

wherein consumer-created content is rapidly increasing in

many domains (Kahney 2004a), such activities should not besurprising. Some even go so far as to assert that these challenges

are revolutionary. Even members of the so-called old guard

such as integrated marketing communications (IMC) guru

Don Shultz, understand and believe this notion:

Media advertising, as we have known, practiced, and wor-shipped it for the past sixty or so years, is in trouble. Bigtrouble. And its not going to get well. Ever. (Shultz 2005,p. xi)

VIGILANTE MARKETING AND CONSUMER-CREATED COMMUNICATIONS

Albert M. Muiz Jr. and Hope Jensen Schau

ABSTRACT: Consumers, acting independently of marketers and advertisers, have started creating and disseminating docu-

ments that strongly resemble, in form and intent, ads for the brands that they love. Employing a netnographic method,

this paper investigates consumer-generated, commercially relevant artifacts by examining the brand community centered

on the Apple Newton, a brand that was (along with its supporting advertising) discontinued in 1998. The members of

the Newton community create commercially relevant content to fill the void created by the lack of advertising for the

brand. These artifacts reflect tensions with the marketer, the market, and the community itself, and imbue the brand with

powerful meaning. These data reveal that consumers can be quite skilled in the creation of brand-relevant communica-

tions, applying the styles, logics, and grammar of advertising. The ascendancy of consumer-generated content prefigures

revolutionary changes in how advertising is defined and practiced.

Albert M. Muiz, Jr. (Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana

Champaign) is an associate professor of marketing, College of Com-

merce, DePaul University.

Hope Jensen Schau (Ph.D., University of California, Irvine) is

an assistant professor of marketing, Eller College of Management,

University of Arizona. The authors wish to thank the following

people for commenting on earlier versions of this manuscript: Eric

Arnould, Richard Elliott, Steven Kates, Cele Otnes, Linda Price,

Cristel Russell, and Mary Wolfinbarger.


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188 The Journal of Advertising

He continues:

Traditional media advertising, with its myths, traditions,pecking orders, perks and privileges, is being replaced bygaming, on-demand, communal, and consumer-generatedcontent and the host of other, more relevant approaches. Welikely will never, ever see a commercial like Apples 1984,simply because there will never, ever be a similar venue or a

similarly focused audience. While thats a shame, its reality.So lets move on. (Shultz 2005, p. xiv)

NotedAdvertising Age columnist Bob Garfield recently made

similar observations (Garfield 2005). Whether or not the future

of advertising is as imperiled as such observers believe (also see

Jaffe 2005), it is clear that advertising and brand promotion

face some significant challenges. Meeting these challenges

will require a major shift in the way advertising is defined and

practiced. Despite the significance of these phenomena, there

is still much to be learned about them.

Using a netnographic method, this paper investigates

consumer-generated, commercially centered artifacts byexamining the brand community centered on the Apple

Newton, a brand that was (along with its supporting adver-

tising) discontinued in 1998. While the Newton brand was

abandoned, the larger Apple brand lives on. This unique com-

munity site allows us to witness the ways a brand community

builds commitment to the brand and the community in the

absence of corporate advertising and promotion. This site also

allows us an exceptional vantage from which to examine con-

sumer-created advertising artifacts and the meanings a brand

community attaches to them. Our data demonstrate effective

consumer-generated communications for the Apple Newton

that are collectively created, disseminated, and distilled withina strong consumer-controlled brand community. These data

reveal much about consumer-to-consumer communications,

including consumers sophistication and agility in mimicking

the conventions of advertising in order to invest brands with

the meanings they seek. We conclude by offering implications

for advertising theory and practice.

ADVERTISING AND BRAND COMMUNITIES

Consumers use advertisements for their meaning as well as

their product information (McCracken 1986; Mick and Buhl

1992; Ritson and Elliot 1999). Advertising practitioners are

aware of this and appear to take it into account when design-

ing ads that are intentionally polysemic (Kates and Goh 2003;

Ritson and Elliott 1999). Meaning in advertising is quite

powerful, affecting the self-definition of the consumer (Shields

and Heinecken 2002) and frequently insinuating itself into

everything from everyday conversation (Alperstein 1990) to

complex consumer ritual (Otnes and Scott 1996). Because

brands become incorporated into the consumers self-identity

and have a prominent role in defining and communicat-

ing complicated and important identity projects to others

(Schau and Gilly 2003), the significance of brand meaning,

particularly that derived from advertising content, cannot be

overstated. Some have even suggested that the meaning of a

brand is its most important characteristic (OGuinn and Mu-

iz 2005). Obviously, consumers value brand and advertising

meaning quite highly.The powerful role of the social context in the interpretation

of advertising meaning is well established. Advertisements are

powerful shared texts that structure and become intertwined

with much social interaction. Ritson and Elliott (1999) dem-

onstrate the many ways advertising structures social interaction

between adolescents. Adolescents evaluative discussions of

current advertising campaigns are important mechanisms for

revealing preferences and viewpoints to one another. Similarly,

Alperstein (1990) noted the importance of the social context

of advertising consumption when he described the ways televi-

sion advertising content worked its way into everyday social

conversations. The social context of advertising powerfullyinfluences the way ads are interpreted and the way in which

the resulting brand meanings are used.

Contributing to these powerful contextual effects is the

fact that various social groups share interpretive strategies

for advertisements. These groups can be based on ethnicity

(Motley, Henderson, and Baker 2003), gender (Kates and

Shaw-Garlock 1999), or nationality (ODonohoe 1997). For

example, ODonohoe (1997) studied the meanings that ado-

lescents in Scotland attached to ads, based on the perceived

country of origin of the ads. She found these adolescents to be

agile and active readers (p. 693) of advertisements. More-

over, the meanings they ascribed to the ads were intertwinedwith their sense of national and local identity, with ads that

most accurately represented Scotland and Scottishness being

appreciated more than those that illegitimately attempted to

employ those themes. The nature and cultures of social groups

affect the ways members of such groups interpret and attach

meanings to ads.

While the importance of culturally bound meanings of

advertisements has been recognized, little attention has been

directed at the subcultural interpretive frame represented by

collectives of the brands most devoted fans. How do brand

communities support, alter, or challenge the meanings of-

fered by the advertiser? Evidence suggests that they can be

quite powerful in this regard. Some of the brand community

members studied by Muiz and OGuinn (2001) created Web

pages that featured advertising for the brand. These members

celebrated the advertisements, accepted the meanings they

offered, and used them to attach meaning to their own experi-

ences with the brand. Mills, Boylstein, and Lorean (2001) re-

port similar findings. They looked at advertising for the Saturn

(automobile), which at the time emphasized themes of commu-


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Fall 2007 189

nity and affiliation, and its impact on Saturn consumers. They

discovered that these community and affiliation themes were

also present in the interpersonal stories told by consumers. On

the other hand, some of the informants studied by Muiz and

OGuinn (2001) were quite critical of the marketing for their

brands, disapproving of advertising strategies and executions.

Instead of simply accepting marketer-suggested meanings for

these brands, members sometimes rejected them and createdtheir own divergent meanings through elaborate images or

personal stories.

Brand communities are the site of complex brand meaning

creation and consumption efforts. As such, they may be the

best place to look for instances of vigilante marketing. Cer-

tainly, this is the perspective of many practitioners writing in

this area (Atkins 2004; Wipperfurth 2005). Advertising and

brand meaning figure quite prominently into brand communi-

ties; advertising is frequently discussed, meanings are openly

negotiated, and corporate communications become part of

the brand lexicon, and indeed the ethos, of the community

(Kates 2002; Schau and Muiz 2002). Given these realities, weexamine consumer-generated content in an abandoned brand

community (Muiz and Schau 2005). We reason that if brand

communities are the site of such behaviors, then an abandoned

brand community might present more robust versions. Such

a unique community site would represent the phenomena in

its purest form.

METHOD

The Apple Newton Community as a

Brand Community Site

The Apple Newton was the earliest entrant into the personal

digital assistants (PDAs) product category. It was rushed to

market in 1993, but was far from bug-free. Its problems were

widely reported and lampooned in the media, which discour-

aged many potential adopters. As a result, the Newton never

achieved critical mass. It did, however, engender a strong and

fiercely loyal grassroots community (Wagner 1998). While

close to 200,000 users were estimated at the height of its

popularity (Cooper 1998), the Newton lost its lead in the

emerging PDA category to the Palm Pilot in 1996 and was

officially discontinued by Apple in February of 1998. Despite

being discontinued, the Newton brand community continuesto thrive (Kahney 2004c). Roughly three to four thousand

Newton users are active participants in on-line forums. Re-

searcher field notes reveal that the participants in these forums

are quite active and vocal in their consumption and interpre-

tation of the brand. Members are in frequent contact about a

variety of brand-specific issues. The Newton brand community

has a lengthy history of producing consumer-generated brand

content. Members have long-created artifacts (documents, im-

ages, videos) to create brand meaning. Many of these artifacts

resemble advertisements and are intended to serve many of

the same functions as advertising.

Netnographic Procedures

Data

Data collection for this project combines observation, par-

ticipant observation, and interview methods. These include

individual and communal consumer-generated brand-related

artifacts, messages posted to two forums that are central to the

community, several user-created Web pages devoted to the New-

ton, researcher field notes, and a series of interviews conducted

with members of the community. A netnographic approach

(Kozinets 2002) was deemed appropriate after extended obser-

vation of the community revealed the Internet to be the chief

way members of this community interact. An ethnographic ap-

proach like this (Wolcott 1994) also allowed us to delve deeply

into complex community meanings. We began observing thiscommunity in mid-2000, two and a half years after the Newton

had been discontinued. The data we report are longitudinal and

our observation of the community is ongoing.

A sizeable portion of the data for this study includes the

messages that members post to one another via two commu-

nity forums (both pseudonymously disguised): the alt.fan

newton Usenet newsgroup and the Newt.net listserv. These

two forums are the primary means by which members of the

Newton community interact and artifacts are disseminated

Advertising and brand-related discourse is common in these

forums. Such discussions include evaluations of the original

Newton advertising, as well as presentations and discussionsof user-created brand content, some of which is explicitly

designed to resemble advertising in form and function. Thirty-

five user-created Web pages were also examined. A maximum

variation sampling scheme (Miles and Huberman 1994) was

used to capture a variety of themes and styles. The examination

of these Web sites is consistent with a recent study of persona

Web space content (Schau and Gilly 2003). Consumer-created

artifacts were selected for analysis based on two distinct but

highly related criteria: breadth of dissemination and breadth

of discussion. The artifacts analyzed were all disseminated via

public Web sites and were discussed extensively in at least one

of the community forums. These artifacts became the centrafocus of our inquiry.

Interviews were conducted with members of the Newton

community regarding the artifacts and their meanings to

the members of the community. Observation preceded entry

allowing us to conduct informed interviews. To recruit vol-

unteers, we used a research Web page, which we announced

via postings to the two community forums. Ninety people

responded with answers to our questions. After reading the


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original responses, we contacted individual members of the

community with follow-up questions. In this way, we began

an ongoing dialogue with several members of the community.

Some of these evolved into extended e-mail discussions, as well

as several telephone and face-to-face interviews. Here, too, a

maximum variation sampling scheme was used to ensure that

a variety of informant perspectives were represented. Table 1

provides a summary of our data.Both researchers made extensive use of field notes. These

notes revealed the strong and complex nature of the com-

munity, but suggested that we were too removed from our

object of study. To address this issue, the lead author engaged

in participant observation. In January 2003, the lead author

bought a Newton 2100, quickly became attached to it, and

used it for a variety of tasks, including composing researcher

field notes. His announcement to the community that he had

purchased a Newton produced positive reactions and an out-

pouring of support and assistance. After using a Newton for

several weeks, the importance of the community in keeping

these complex devices operating was readily apparent. Thisauthors brand community membership provided an impor-

tant and unique perspective, as well as empathy with the

community and its plight. It has also provided an important

source of credibility with other members of the community.

The second author was a nonparticipant observer. These two

perspectives provided beneficial interpretive perspective and

tension (Denzin 1998).

Analysis

Analysis and interpretation of the data described above was

an iterative process of interpreting, deriving new questions,searching for and collecting new data, rejecting, confirming,

and refining our emerging interpretations until they stood

the weight of the data. We relied on Wolcotts (1994) ethno-

graphic conventions in this endeavor, moving continuously

among our focal artifacts, interview transcripts, and field

notes. We worked iteratively through the data to identify

recurring themes and motifs to produce a thick description

of Newton brand community culture. In addition, we created

an interpretation of Newton brand community culture by

making inferences from the data while relying on the litera-

ture on brand community as a guide (Creswell 1998). As our

thinking progressed, we downloaded additional threads from

the forums and conducted additional interviews to look for

counterexamples to challenge our interpretations. Member

checks were also conducted. On multiple occasions, we have

placed our interpretations on our research page and invited

members to comment on them. These comments suggested

that our emerging interpretations were on the right track

toward emic validity. After many iterations, we believe we

achieved sufficient interpretive convergence.

FINDINGS

The Newton community easily satisfies the criteria for being

a brand community as established by Muiz and OGuinn

(2001). Consciousness of kind, moral responsibility and rituals

and traditions are all evident. Researcher field notes reveal that

members engage in numerous varied activities to perpetuate

the community and assist others using the brand. Members canand do acquire, use, promote, repair, modify, and recycle their

Newtons without any support from the firm. The community

is entirely self-sustaining, as Apple is no longer involved.

Still, the Newton community is in a perilous position. This

is a widespread perception among members. Service, assistance

and new applications are difficult to obtain. Most of these tasks

are performed by members. In the case of developing new ap-

plications, the more skilled members of the community can

be counted on to solve the most pressing problems, but their

efforts cannot be as complete as a full marketplace of develop-

ers. Members are burdened with additional challenges, ranging

from getting the device to work with newer desktop operatingsystems, to the prodding of friends, family, and colleagues to

adopt newer devices. In addition, the more time passes, the

more members will be lost due to the physical failure of the

device. A common challenge or threat can be a powerful source

of unity and inspiration (Hunter and Suttles 1972; Kephart

and Zellner 1994). It can also be the motivation for the de-

ployment of compelling stories and images (Halperin 1998;

Janowitz 1952). This appears to be what is happening here.

The Newton community is threatened and is responding to

this threat by creating powerful meanings for the brand.

These meaning-making activities take a variety of forms,

including actions intended to fill the void created by the lack

of advertising for the brand. Members create a lot of content to

perpetuate and extend the Newton image, including many that

are explicitly designed to look like advertisements. Researcher

field notes reveal several instances in which advertising-like

content was offered to the community as an alternative New-

ton ad. Toward this end, it should also be noted that many

current Newton users only became aware of the Newton after

its demise via the word-of-mouth of other users. In essence,

TABLE 1

Data Summary

Observation of on-line community 6 years

Participant observation of on-line community 3.5 years

Initial electronic member interviews 90 (unique)

Follow-up electronic member interviews 50 of initial

Extended researcher-member 22

electronic exchanges (> 3)

Telephone member interviews 10

Face-to-face member interviews 5

Member Web sites 35


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Fall 2007 191

consumer-driven communications were more effective in at-

tracting new users for this brand than were the official corpo-

rate campaigns. Vigilante marketing has a long and successful

history in the Apple Newton brand community.

The Newton users are somewhat angry, defiant, and rebel-

lious. They contest cultural meanings given to the Newton

brand by the marketer, and the larger market. They strive to

prevent user apathy and attrition. They work diligently toreframe symbols, distance themselves from the marketer, and

defend their right to exist and consume. These sentiments

are expressed in a variety of forms and are directed at three

primary targets: the (now absent) marketer, the market, and

the members of the community itself. Apple is frequently

targeted for not doing enough to promote the brand and for

discontinuing it prematurely. The market is targeted for its

failure to recognize and embrace the Newton. Existing users

are challenged to push their Newtons further, to do more for

the community, and to believe that anything is possible. The

tension reflected and perpetuated in these artifacts is a central

part of the community experience.

Contesting the Marketer

Most community members blame Apple for the failure of the

product that led to its abandonment. Many single out the ad-

vertising for the brand. Consider the following comments:

Apple didnt know how to market/explain the concept. Whichleads to a second problem. . . . people wont spend $1,500 onsomething they cant see value in. When Palm came alongat $300, people thought they were the same and bought the

cheaper (and smaller) units. (Phil, male, interview)

Another user blames the poor consumer awareness the Newton

has suffered on the low amount of advertising.

Lack of advertisingI cant even count the number of timessomeone has stopped me to ask about my Newtons. They havenever seen one and have no idea Apple even made a PDA.(George, male, interview)

Many members of the community shared similar opinions

about Apples advertising for the Newton. It is a frequent

topic of conversation in the community forums. Field notes

reveal it as something members discuss when consideringthe history or the ultimate fate of the community and the

brand it is centered on. The major contentions of members

are threefold: that the Newton was not sufficiently promoted

(not enough advertising), that the Newton was not properly

positioned as a complex multiattribute computing machine,

and that the Newton ads were not representative of actual us-

ers and usage.1 These concerns may explain the community

preoccupation with brand-meaning creation. They certainly

attest to the significance of advertising and brand meaning

for devoted loyal users.

The theme of anger and defiance toward Apple is common

in the user-created content. Consider the example in Figure

1. This document, and a similar companion piece, was cre-ated shortly after Apple discontinued the Newton. Most of

the community members we interviewed were familiar with

these images and what they conveyed about the Newton brand

experience. Both documents were widely distributed and can

still be found on community members sites. Both contain

the Apple logo and both mimic Apple advertising of the time

(Collins 1998). Both play with the Apple advertising tag line

Think Different to reference user outrage and both empha

size brand loyalty that was punished when the Newton was

discontinued. These user-created artifacts are obvious in their

deployment of advertising rhetoric, including contrivances

used by Apple. They are an angry yet sophisticated rallyingcall to the community.

Researcher field notes reveal several instances of the appro-

priation of Apple advertising and branding conventions:

Found several references to the Newton underground. Ap-pears to be a loose collective of Web sites from shortly afterthe product was discontinued. Uses a modified Jolly Rogeras symbol that includes the requisite skull and crossbones, aswell as the Newton brand logoan illuminated light bulb

FIGURE 1Consumer-Created Ad Contesting the Marketer


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indicating an idea. Striking combo of visuals. Makes pointwell and fits with the defiant feel of these sites. (Researcherfield notes, October 2001)

Similarly, the Newt.net listserv developed its own logo featur-

ing the original Newton logo and a member-created slogan,

Ink Different, also derived from the Think Different tag

line. See Figure 2 for an image of this logo, which was used

on community T-shirts. So many Newton users have adoptedthis logo, in both Web sites and signature files, that it could

be considered a consumer-generated brand content convention

of the Newton brand community, post-Apple.

Members also rework Apple advertising content in order to

create their own powerful meanings for the Newton. Consider

the example in Figure 3. The creator of this artifact has taken

branding and advertising conventions from a variety of sources,

including Apple (picture of Steve Jobs), Newton (Newton light

bulb icon), and the James Bond movie franchise (the titlea

play on Tomorrow Never Diesand the action images).

The resulting image simultaneously challenges the marketing

decision of Apple to abandon the Newton (note how Steve Jobs

occupies the position of the villain) and reminds Newton own-

ers that their devices are far from dead. Indeed, the imagery of

this ad suggests the Newton is powerful, versatile and, to an

extent, sexy. These were properties Apple probably never in-

tended for the brand. This ad resonates with the community to

this day. Several other Newton Web sites link to the image and

accompanying MIDI file (which plays the James Bond theme)

and a number of member signature files incorporate the tag

line Newton Never Dies (sometimes amending it to includeit just gets its batteries recharged). This is an important part

of the community-created meaning for the Newton brand. In

contrast, Apples ads for the Newton are typically referred to

derisively. Much consumer-generated content may be borne

of frustration with extant advertising efforts.

Such appropriation of these advertising and branding

conventions represents a subverting of the intended mean-

ing to serve the meaning of a distinct group, in this case the

brand community. Riston, Elliott, and Eccles (1996) describe

the ways a lesbian group in the United Kingdom alters the

mainstream meaning of Scandinavian furnishing store IKEA

to create a subcultural identity. Similarly, Davidson (1992)

describes the ways heroin users in the United Kingdom re-

versed the meaning of a government-sponsored antiheroin

usage advertising campaign to make it into a celebration

of the heroin subculture. In the Newton community, these

subversive activities are intended to change the meaning of a

technology brand to make it better reflect their experience of

it. Researchers studying the adoption and long-term use of a

technology by groups call this process antiprogram (Akrich

FIGURE 2Consumer-Created Logo

FIGURE 3Consumer-Created Ad Drawing fromMultiple Brand and Cultural Sources


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Fall 2007 193

and Latour 1992, p. 260), a process by which a technological

product is remade into what the group wants (as opposed to

what the marketer intended). For example, Kline (2003) notes

the ways rural Americans negotiated new meanings for the

technological innovations of electrification and the telephone

in order to rid them of restrictive urban culture connotations

of appropriate use. What is noteworthy in the Newton com-

munity is that these processes are not limited to simply usingthe product in novel ways. Members of the Newton community

also create various artifacts to elaborate on and reinforce these

uses and changed meanings. This represents an extension of

our understanding of antiprogram processes. Certainly, they

suggest that antiprogram activities may increasingly play out

in consumption collectives via consumer-generated content

and vigilante marketing.

Defending the Brand from the Competition and the

Larger Market

Many of these user-created objects express defiance towardthe larger market and other PDAs. Newton users recognize

the challenge of animating a brand for a technology that has

been discontinued for over nine years and act to protect the

Newton brand from external encroachments. This has been

demonstrated by several incidents in which the community

reacted to protect Newton branding conventions and signs.

In February of 2002, for example, a member posted a link to

a Web site whose logo looked suspiciously like a blatant copy

of the Newton logo of an illuminated light bulb. Researcher

field notes reveal that member reaction to this infraction was

swift and decisive:

One of the frequent posters has created a Web page whereyou can compare [the offending companys] new logo withthe original Newton logo. Its a clever tool that allows you tosuperimpose either logo over the other in order to judge theamount of overlap. Makes it pretty clear that the images arequite similar. (Researcher field notes, February 2002)

Once convinced by the comparison that the similarities

could not be accidental, other members e-mailed the offend-

ing company, asking if they were aware of the similarities.

Eventually, in a move widely regarded by the community

as a victory, the company removed the offending logo. Such

vigilant actions demonstrate the important symbolic power of

the logo and the ever-present fear of its loss. Members speak,

in sophisticated terms, of the need to prevent the dilution of

the brand and the death of the logo. Someone else using

the logo unchallenged would be a confirmation of sorts that

the brand was dead, despite the communitys best efforts to

keep it viable.

In addition to the amorphous larger market, the community

contests newer, competing PDAs, particularly the more suc-

cessful Palm. A 2002 Apple ad campaign entitled Switch

urged PC users to switch from the PC to the Macintosh. This

campaign caused quite a stir in the Apple community (Kahney

2002). It also resonated with many members of the Newton

community as many Newton users have switched from compet-

ing PDAs to the Newton. While discussing the Apple switch

campaign, one member issued a call for the community to put

together a Switch to Newton campaign that would use thesame themes and conventions, but would encourage consumers

to switch from competing PDAs to the Newton:

While sitting in the local Apple store last night, they wereplaying the Switch ads on the presentation screen in backand suddenly it hit me. I know that Im not the only onehere who has/is moved/moving from something else (a P*lmusually) to (or back to) a newtie. So, anyone here who wouldbe interested in putting together some Switch ads of ourown extolling the virtues of the Newton? (Louis, listserv,December 2002)

Note the use of the word ad in the call for this consumer-created content. The desired artifacts would be considered

advertisements for the Newton brand and community. This

is not uncommon.

An example of the content produced in response to this

call is presented in Figure 4. This artifact combines elements

of the Apple Switch campaign with the former advertising

spokesman for Dell Computers to urge readers to switch to the

Newton. While not of the highest professional quality, this ad

spawned favorable community discussion, with several mem-

bers using it as the background image on their Newton screens

The actions for brand-meaning creation in this example (as in

the James Bond-esque movie poster discussed earlier) representan interesting twist on the notion of advertising intertextual-

ity. ODonohoe (1997) noted that the meanings derived from

advertising are greatly influenced by the consumption of other

texts. Thus, the ability to decode a particular ad and derive

meaning from it is often dependent on knowledge of another

source material, such as a particular popular movie or song

Advertisers intentionally use intertextuality when creating ads

and consumers are able to accommodate it when consuming ads

Here we see the consumers of this brand utilizing intertextual-

ity in their collaborative meaning-creating endeavors. These

consumers are demonstrating much agility in their utilization

of the leaky boundaries (ODonohoe 1997, p. 257) between

advertising and other cultural texts via their appropriation o

content from those texts. These consumers are literate enough

in contemporary advertising principles to be able to use sophis-

ticated conventions in the brand support content they create

Such advanced advertising literacy (Ritson and Elliott 1995

may explain the recent rise in vigilante marketing and related

consumer-generated content. Growing up in an advertising-

saturated culture may make writing ads relatively easy.


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Once again, the actions of the Newton brand community

in this regard have historical roots. Rather early on, mem-

bers of the Newton community revealed themselves to be

sophisticated critics of Newton advertising. Several times,

members have suggested that Apple pay more attention to thecompetition in their advertising for the Newton. Typically,

communal discussions followed concerning how this could

best be accomplished. Consider the following:

I think that at this point, Apple might hire some of the con-sultants who created Democratic and Republican attack adsfor the recent election. (Im sure someone will flame me forencouraging the propagation of this kind of media negativityto the computer realm, but so be it.) An Apple ad would showa burly executive type open his little Casio job, breaking thescreen off. Then after, say, taping the hinge up with duct tape,hed find that he cant really find any way to squeeze his large

fingers into the space of the keyboard. Another scene mighthave him hailing a cab, and finding the feeble backlightingrendering his screen illegible, stealing glances at the nice yel-low glow of the Newton held by a sharply/elegantly dressedcompetitor for a cab; of course, the cab would pass up some-one using a WINCE job. And of course hed bust that teenyinsubstantial pen. Any other scenarios? (Mick, newsgroup,November 1996)

Note the sophisticated suggestions for this hypothetical ad.

Also note the well-developed understanding of the typical

users of the different operating systems and the suggested

consequences for using the wrong brand. This proposal gen-

erated a number of positive responses, including alternative

scenarios for such a comparison ad.

While oppositional tendencies have been noted previously

in brand communities (Muiz and OGuinn 2001), they have

an added urgency in this brand community because the focal

brand is in real danger of disappearing, with its users migratingto these platforms. As a result, the means of communicating

these oppositional notions have only become more pronounced

and vivid. Consider the example in Figure 5. With a style

reminiscent of Soviet propaganda posters, this object vividly

displays a members devotion to the Newton by suggesting

what effect switching to a Palm would have. The tendency to

position against the competition so vividly is most likely a

function of the threatened condition in which the community

operates. These artifacts not only express defiance toward the

larger market and the competition but also create unique

meanings. Moreover, such themes are common in consumer-

generated content. Ives (2004) discusses the vigilante mar-keting surrounding Firefox Web browser, a brand that exists

in opposition to the market-dominating Microsoft Internet

Explorer. Much of the vigilante marketing created on behalf

of Firefox emphasizes oppositional brand loyalty themes (see

www.firefoxflicks.com for examples).

Boosting the Brand Community

The Newton community also needs to address threats from

within its ranks. As the devices age and their repair and ex-

tension become more difficult, user complacency, apathy, and

attrition are significant threats. Community boosterism isimportant in the Newton community, as it is in most com-

munities (Delaney 1995; Strauss 1961), particularly those

that have been abandoned (Leigh, Peters, and Shelton 2006;

Muiz and Schau 2005). Communities need shared symbols

and content for consensus (Janowitz 1952, p. 71). From time

to time, various members of the community challenge other

users. Recall the Switch artifact discussed earlier (also see the

Powerbook example discussed subsequently). Both were the

result of calls challenging members to come up with their own

Newton ads. Both also resulted in multiple documents that

developed unique meanings for the Newton brand. Members

need to be challenged in order to energize the community

and keep it vital. Sometimes user-created content is explicitly

designed to address this need. These range from stream-of-

consciousness testimonials with titles like Confessions of a

Newton Junkie, to more carefully scripted efforts.

In one instance, a member invited other Newton users to

create texts mimicking the old Powerbook ads where people

talked about what system they had and what they had on there

(John, posted to his Newton Web site). The Apple Powerbook

FIGURE 4Consumer-Created Ad Drawing fromMultiple Brand and Cultural Sources


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Fall 2007 195

ads of concern were textual in nature and featured data on a

different Powerbook user, including why they bought a Pow-

erbook and how they used it. Consider the example in Figure6. This is one of several user creations offered in response to

the above invitation. The user-created Newton versions dem-

onstrate what attributes and uses consumers truly value and

would highlight to convince new users to adopt.

Another example of boosting the community can be found

in the Newtons around the world gallery. A member of the

community noted that iPod users had started a collection of

images called iPods around the world, in which iPod users

take pictures of their iPods in exotic and mundane settings

(see Gallery.ipodlounge.com). Another member responded

and challenged members of the Newton community to do

the same with their Newtons. The call was enthusiastically

answered, with contributors talking about the importance of

supporting the greater good via their efforts. Currently, the

gallery features over 170 images, showing Newtons in such

places as Disney World (see Figure 7), Niagara Falls, Tokyo,

Japan, and Wellington, New Zealand, with the Newtons being

used in a variety of tasks from conducting interviews to count-

ing electronic parts. It is a very communal and collaborative

process. Members push one another to come up with more

powerful images and the results are pointed to and discussed

with excitement. The take-away from these images is clear: The

Newton is far from dead, as there are Newton users all aroundthe world, using their Newtons for all kinds of purposes.

These practices continue. In early June 2005, over seven

and a half years after Apple had discontinued the Newton, a

member posted on the listserv a link to a movie he had created

for the Newton community. The creator took parts from old

television ads for the Newton, edited and rearranged them

and added new narration, music, and visuals. We contacted

and interviewed this member of the community to ask about

his creation. His comments confirm our interpretation that

such artifacts are designed to fill the void left by the lack o

advertising for the brand and to push members of the com-

munity to do more.

OWEN: Everybody was sure the Newton was coming backin some new incarnation, and a lot of people came up withthese, cobbled together, what they thought it would be. And Ithink in my movie, and I dont even remember where I got itfrom, the last image that I have is somebodys thing called theiPad. I wanted to make a call to somebody, and [say] Apple,cmon! If everybody sees this and what it could do, I meanthe satellite going, and the writing and it can fax, and speak to

FIGURE 5Consumer-Created Ad Emphasizing Oppositional Brand Loyalty Themes


10/16


laser printers . . . So if thats good for our community, I hopeso, you know, maybe we should all make movies and startsending them to Apple. Thats why I said in my little blurb atthe end of my movie, you know, use the Newton communityas a sales force, you dont even have to hire anybody. Use theNewton community as the sales force. . . . It didnt take alot of thought because I just love the platform and its just aquestion of putting together my little story line.

I: [Laughs]OWEN: I mean, quite frankly, Im almost, Im not completelynot serious about it, I mean, one of the things I found so ex-hilarating about the computers these days and what we can dois delivering video on the Internet. I mean, its very accessible.If we can, video is compelling. It might be something thatpeople are encouraged to go seek out and wanna look at.

I: So you think it could be an effective promotional tool?

OWEN: Absolutely. Everybody loves video. (Owen, male,interview)

This artifact certainly made an impact on the community,

producing positive reactions sent directly to the creator (greatjob, made my day, may the green shine upon you)2 and

extending into discussion in the forums. Consider the fol-

lowing response:

That was soooo good, almost made me cry. Well done, Owen.I even loved the music, which is something from a classicalbassoonist. It was only coincidence that I was wearing myblack Newton T-shirt and black linen jeans (bare feet tho).LOL, Marie. (female, listserv, July 2005)

Name: Mitch

Occupation: Veterinary Student

Newton: MP 110 (right now), getting an MP 2100 soon

Why I bought a Newton: I saw the MP 110 in a pawn shop, and thought it looked cool. It was also cheap. =) I was thinking

about a Palm, but the Newton is a lot better than the Palms Ive seen. I then read about the MP2100, and started drooling.

Luckily, I found a friend of mine who hasnt used his in forever, and bought it off of him. =)

What I love about the Newton: I love the laptop abilities in a smaller package. I will love the ability to use Ethernet.. =)

What I dislike: Steve Jobs. =) No, I think Apple was stupid for canceling them. Id like a smaller form factor, and I wish

there were more device drivers. I wish the interconnect port was more available. =)

Carrying case: The Apple Leather one for my 110.

Strangest place Ive ever used my Newton: None yet. =) Im planning on doing an externship to Great Britain next year,

and Ill probably take my MP2100 along.

Whats on my Newton: Mystic 8 Ball, SoloDX, and whatever the Othello for OS1.3 is (I cant remember the name). (Mitch,Web site, 2000)

FIGURE 7Consumer-Generated Brand Promoting Image

FIGURE 6Consumer-Created Ad Mimicking Prior Apple Campaign


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Fall 2007 197

Reaction to this video was so great that the creator began work

on another one, soliciting the group for help in the form of

ideas and images of their Newtons in use.

Many of the efforts at brand community boosterism are an

attempt to legitimate the community and the values on which

it is predicated (Hummon 1990; Leigh, Peters, and Shelton

2006; Muiz and Schau 2005; Strauss 1961). Leigh, Peters, and

Shelton (2006) note that extensive restoration and maintenanceprojects undertaken by MG drivers legitimize both individual

members and the community itself. Similar things are at

work here. In the Newton community, core values include a

strong do-it-yourself ethic and a mastery over technology. By

reifying these values, members of the Newton community

are creating their own powerful brand meanings to reenergize

the brand, perpetuate the community, and delay the onset of

obsolescence. These activities are an example of what Mick and

Fournier (1998) call technology consumption confrontation

strategies. Such strategies are intended to allow consumers a

feeling of control over technology. One such strategy is master-

ing. Mastering evokes a metaphorical frame of hierarchy andpower (p. 138). In the creation and deployment of powerful

images and texts, members of the Newton brand community

are imposing control over an increasingly chaotic product and

brand. In so doing, they are attempting to inoculate the brand

against obsolescence. Granted, the consumers of this study are

undoubtedly more technologically advanced and market-savvy

than the consumers studied by Mick and Fournier (1998).

Still, the strategies displayed here offer a new twist on their

findings, as they demonstrate how these processes play out

in communal consumption settings, via consumer-generated

content, and in vigilante marketing.

The actions of the Newton community in this regard havehistorical roots. Rather early on (while Apple was still produc-

ing the device), members of the Newton brand community

diverged from the marketer in terms of what the Newton

should be. Their divergence included product modification,

the creation of alternative brand meanings, and the creation

of new applications. The Newton community first contested

the marketers definition of the product, and then refashioned

the product and brand as they saw fit. After the Newton was

discontinued, the location of text production shifted to the

consumer (Mitussis and Elliott 1999) and these same con-

sumers created their own meanings, stressing the properties

that they felt were most relevant. The historical roots of this

consumer-generated content probably fostered the culture of

innovation (Zien and Buckler 1997) that has been necessary

for the Newton brand community to continually innovate the

product to this day. If so, vigilante marketing may play an

important role in encouraging user innovation (Von Hippel

2005). Vigilante marketing may offer user-innovators emo-

tional support for their efforts while providing reassurance to

the adopters of consumer-created innovations. The historical

roots of these activities may also go a long way to explaining

the quantity of consumer-generated content encountered in

the Newton brand community. All of this suggests that a few

instances of consumer-generated content may precipitate many

more instances in the future.

DISCUSSION

This research examines vigilante marketing by analyzing

consumer-generated, brand-centered communications in the

brand community centered on the Apple Newton, a product

that was discontinued by the marketer over nine years ago

The consumers of the abandoned Apple Newton brand are now

charged with responsibility for the entire brand-sustaining

experience: modifying, repairing and innovating the product

as well as creating and sustaining brand meaning and com-

munity. As part of these activities, members engage in vigi-

lante marketing. They create brand artifacts, many of which

explicitly resemble advertisements, to bind the community

together, reify its values and beliefs, and continually revitalizethe product. Moreover, they are quite skilled in these activities

successfully mimicking the styles, tropes, logic, and grammar

of advertising for both Apple and other brands. What we see

in the Newton brand community dovetails nicely with the

recent proliferation of customer evangelism that goes by many

names, including homebrew ads (Kahney 2004b), folk ads

(OGuinn 2003), open source branding (Garfield 2005), and

vigilante marketing (Ives 2004). The findings reported in

this paper, taken together with these new marketplace behav-

iors, have importantperhaps revolutionaryimplications

for advertising theory and practice.

Consumer-Generated Content

We have long known that consumers create their own meaning

for ads (Mick and Buhl 1992). Sometimes, these meanings are

quite removed from those intended by the marketer (Kates

2002). We also know that some consumers deliberately sub-

vert the meanings created by marketers (OGuinn and Muiz

2005; Ritson, Elliott, and Eccles 1996). More recently, we have

begun to see evidence that in such meaning-creation efforts

consumers can mimic the conventions of advertising (Flight

2005; Garfield 2005; Ives 2004). Owing to cheaper desktop

audio, video, and animation software, consumers can easily

create promotional content that rivals that which is produced

professionally. Moreover, via the Internet, such creations can

be quickly and inexpensively shared with a multitude of oth-

ers. Vigilante marketing has already been seen for multiple

brands such as Apple, Coke, Firefox, Molson, and Volkswa-

gen (Flight; Ives 2004; Kahney 2004b). Some of it has been

quite sophisticated (Garfield 2005). By several accounts, the

tendency for consumers to create their own advertisements


12/16


for the brands they like is only going to increase (Jaffe 2005).

There is already at least one Web site business devoted to it

(see www.adcandy.com). What we see in the Newton brand

community is the logical extreme of such consumer meaning

creation: consumers attempting to create meanings for a brand

that is no longer advertised. This research demonstrates that

consumers are, and have been, quite capable of a variety of these

actions. Consumers, especially those who are members of brandcommunities, are more than able to be skillful, proficient, and

prolific in the creation of vigilante advertising content. There

is no reason to doubt that the practice will spread beyond the

examples contained herein.

These are noteworthy developments. At the very least,

they push the boundaries of consumer meaning production

to their furthest limits. Newton consumers are not cocreating

meaning; they are sole-authoring it. Less conservatively, these

findings suggest something far more revolutionarya change

in the status quo with respect to the definition and practice

of advertising. For starters, these findings portend a shift in

control. Brand communities, such as those centered on theNewton, the iPod, or Mozilla Firefox, are shifting power away

from advertisers who create and control one-way marketing

communication and giving it to consumers. Findings such

as those reported here lend credence to the claims, from a

growing chorus of voices, that the institution of advertising is

imperiled (Garfield 2005; Jaffe 2005; Shultz 2005). Granted,

many of these changes will not be felt overnight. Still, many

are having very real impacts now. Either way, it may be time

to develop a new definition of advertising, one that accom-

modates user-generated content.

On the practical side, these findings also have some obvi-

ous implications for advertising managers. First, there areimplications for the advertising of technology. Consumers and

their social groups do not always accept the meanings and uses

presented in advertising by the manufacturers of new technolo-

gies. Sometimes, these products and their uses and meanings

are subject to processes of deinscription and antiprogram

(Akrich 1992; Akrich and Latour 1992), in which the intended

uses and meanings are rejected and renegotiated. Despite the

prevalence of these practices, no technology studies to date have

explicitly looked at the role of consumer meaning-creation ac-

tivities in deinscription and antiprogram activities. Most have

focused on usage behavior (i.e., consumers using the product

in novel and unintended ways). None have shown consumers

actively creating advertising-like artifacts to counter the mean-

ings suggested by the marketer. The Newton community not

only deinscribed and antiprogrammed the Newton via their

usage patterns but also created stories, images, and videos that

supported and elaborated on these new usages. This research

suggests that vigilante marketing can be an important site for

these behaviors. Similar things may be happening with the

consumer-generated content created by iPod fans (Ives 2004;

Kahney 2004b). iPod users have already created applications

that extend those devices far beyond what Apple intended.

Vigilante marketing may allow them to augment the meanings

of the iPod to reinforce those extensions.

This research also underscores the importance of unique

brand meanings suggested by previous research, but adds a

new caveat. The importance of unique brand meanings may,

at first glance, seem obvious. However, it appears to be ofsuch tremendous importance as to deserve deeper exploration.

Consider the following brands: Jeep and Harley Davidson

(McAlexander, Schouten, and Koening 2002), Macintosh and

Saab (Belk and Tumbat 2002; Muiz and OGuinn 2001), Star

Wars and Volkswagen (Brown, Kozinets, and Sherry 2003),

and Xena: Warrior Princess (Schau and Muiz 2002). All of

these brands have unique and powerful meanings and all have

strong, deeply devoted brand communities. In all of these

communities, members occasionally take partial control of the

brand to create idiosyncratic meanings beyond those suggested

by the marketer. Now consider the brands for which we have

seen vigilante marketing. They, too, have been characterizedby unique brand meanings. Unique brand meanings are im-

portant because they appear to offer consumers more space for

supplemental meaning creation.

The Newton was afforded some powerful and unique mean-

ings via the parent brand, Apple. These meanings had been

a part of user-created, brand-promotional content since the

earliest days of the community. Since being abandoned, the

Apple Newton brand community has continually endeavored

to create unique and compelling meanings, most of which go

well beyond what Apple originally suggested. Most of the

members we interviewed note that the community has done

a better job of defining and elaborating the essence of theNewton brand than Apple did; they simply think the com-

munity understands it better. This research suggests that not

only are unique and powerful brand meanings a crucial part

of the brand community; they may also play an important

role in fostering vigilante marketing. When properly inspired

and left to their own devices, brand enthusiasts will strive to

create such strong and unique meanings. Clearly, this is what

is happening in the iPod community. Members are building

on the meanings offered by Apple in order to develop more

idiosyncratic meanings.

This research also reinforces the importance of following

the conversation about the brand that takes place among con-

sumers. This research suggests that marketers should listen to

and understand what their consumers are saying, particularly

when those consumers are embedded in a brand community.

This assertion seems commonsensical, and others have echoed

this sentiment, saying there is still much to be learned from

consumer-generated content (Garfield 2005; Morrissey 2005).

This is not to say that the advertiser should blindly accept and

follow the communitys wishes. However, when there are large


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discrepancies between what the community believes about

the brand (as expressed via consumer-generated content) and

the way that the advertising is positioning the brand, then

clearly something is wrong. Given the discrepancy between

the way Apple positioned the Newton and the ways in which

consumers used it, it appears that Apple could have obtained

some useful ideas by listening to the community. At the very

least, listening to the community could have helped Applefine-tune their ads for the Newton. Given that users of a wide

variety of products and services frequently use, innovate, and

develop those offerings in novel ways and that these ways often

become the standard (von Hippel 2005), this advice might be

worth further consideration.

Apple appears to be aware of these possibilities and has not

attempted to block or restrict any of the consumer-generated

iPod content (Garfield 2005). Indeed, there is the distinct

possibility that they are closely following the conversation in

order to divine future advertising campaigns and product en-

hancements (Meyers 2005). In a less technical realm, Jeep has

followed a similar strategy and has been enormously successful.Jeep looked to its brand community and user-created brand

content to create ads that resonated with the existing com-

munity and appealed to potential Jeep drivers. For example,

the successful 2002 Jeep advertising campaign, Jenny, was

inspired by the Jeep brand community. With a lot of Jeep

owners theres a certain saying and youll see it on Jeep bumper

stickersIts a Jeep thing, you wouldnt understand. A lot of

Jenny takes its inspiration from that (Jeep brand manager

Pearl Davies, quoted in Ferriss 2002). Jeep owners created

content that expressed what the brand meant to them. This

content was then distributed in bumper stickers, T-shirts,

newsletters, and Web sites. Jeep recognized the appeal of thiscontent and successfully leveraged it to promote the brand.

Taking this idea a step further offers another practical,

though perhaps controversial, suggestion for advertisers: Give

consumers the tools and encourage them to create advertising

content for your brand. Our findings suggest consumers are

quite savvy in their understanding of the styles, tropes, logic,

and grammar of advertising. Newton consumers demonstrate

high levels of advertising literacy (Ritson and Elliott 1995) via

their mastery of such advertising conventions as intertextuality

(ODonohoe 1997) and oppositional brand loyalty (Muiz and

Hamer 2001). Such advanced literacy is also evident in much

of the vigilante marketing seen for other brands. This creative

expertise should be leveraged. A few major consumer brands

appear to have already taken this advice (Morrissey 2005).

MasterCard created a Web site (www.priceless.com) that in-

vited consumers to create copy to accompany two television

commercials in their Priceless campaign and Converse used

several consumer-generated commercials as part of their most

recent television campaign (Bosman 2006). Both campaigns

were generally considered successful.

Chevrolet, however, provides the most interesting example

Chevrolet gave consumers the tools (video clips, music, and

customizable titles) to create video ads for the Chevy Tahoe

that were then available for viewing on the Web (Neisser

2006). While some of the resulting ads were quite effective

promotional messages, they were far from unanimously posi

tive (many were anti-SUV in tone). This example is noteworthy

because it illustrates vividly both the opportunities and thechallenges in giving consumers creative control. There are

significant risks as well as benefits. Still, some practitioners

believe that even negative consumer-generated content has

utility, as it offers valuable insight (New Media Age 2006). For

their part, Chevrolet did not attempt to quell or remove any of

the negative Tahoe content, claiming to have anticipated the

possibility (Bosman 2006). Either way, consumer-generated

content and vigilante marketing are not going to go away

(Jaffee 2005). Advertisers should accept this fact and act ac-

cordingly. The revolution wont be televised. Instead, it wil

be expertly rendered and edited by dedicated users, and then

distributed via e-mail and YouTube.Finally, our research also provides suggestions for using ad-

vertising to build or reinforce a strong brand community. Com-

munities united by a central challenge appear to be stronger

The Newton brand community underscores the importance o

such a tension. Advertisers may wish to create or emphasize a

common challenge or source of tension via strong oppositiona

brand loyalty (Muiz and OGuinn 2001). Thus, advertisers

may wish to stress an us versus them mentality. Coke and

Pepsi do this, and it appears to be effective in generating and

reinforcing their rivalry (Muiz and Hamer 2001). A varia-

tion on this strategy is to play up an underdog status. This is

after all, the exact type of tension that DDB touted in theirfamous VW Beetle campaign when they positioned the Bug

relative to the larger, more stylish domestic cars of the day (Fox

1984). Volkswagen deployed a series of us versus the rest o

the market messages and created a strong brand community

around the Bug and VW. It should also be noted that this

strategy has already been deployed in much of the vigilante

marketing efforts for Firefox. Most of the advertising-relevant

artifacts created by members of that community emphasize

both the browsers rivalry with Microsofts Internet Explorer

and its underdog status.

Directions for Future Research

The realm of consumer-generated content represents an ex-

tremely rich area for future research. There is much to be

explored, as most of what is known is anecdotal. Outside of

this paper, there have been no academic studies exploring this

phenomenon. Potential topics include measuring consumer

response (perhaps via instruments used to assess traditional

advertising response), the impact of such consumer-generated


14/16


content on received brand image, and strategies for reactions

to consumer-generated content by advertisers. This data will

be readily available as these processes continue to develop and

spread. The brand community centered on the Mozilla Firefox

Web browser is already encouraging an entire user-created

promotional campaign. Undoubtedly, there will be increas-

ing numbers of such examples. The realm of antibrand brand

communities (Aron and Muiz 2002; Hollenbeck and Zinkhan2006) and vigilante marketing is also ripe for exploration.

Consumers who dislike a particular brand can also mimic the

conventions of that brand when creating antibrand content.

Similarly, the role of consumer-generated content in user innova-

tion (von Hippel 2005) is also open for future research. Vigilante

marketing may play a role in both the perpetuation and promo-

tion of this behavior. Finally, the intersection of advertising and

the inscription and deinscription of technology goods may be a

good area for future exploration, as many of these activities may

play out in the realm of consumer-generated content.

NOTE

1. It should be noted that despite this prevailing belief in thecommunity, outside analysts have identified other causes for theNewtons failure (Tesler 2001).

2. The Newton body is green, as is the backlight for thescreen.

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