When advertising takes a stand: market activism, gender, and social change in Greece

What happens when advertisers take a stand for social equality or justice? This chapter comparatively analyses cases in post-austerity Greece to critically re-appraise the concept of market activism in relation to gender. Market activism is broadly defined as the discursive and/or practical engagement of market actors with social or environmental issues. Specifically, I explore the ways in which advertisers mobilise (on) ideas of gender empowerment and general egalitarianism by comparing cases of femvertising (by global beauty brand Dove and Greek chocolate brand Lacta) and cases of advertisers divesting from sexist media commentary, following the 2021 eruption of #metoo in Greece. Reflecting on literature on femvertising and commodity activism, I locate market activism in the context of southeast Europe, while I argue that the politics of advertisers as activists vary. On the one hand, they can move social struggles to the mainstream, while on the other they can usurp the dynamic moment in which protest publics mobilize against gender inequality and injustice.