Articles

Journal of Macromarketing
32(2) 168-180
Atmospheres of Seduction: A Critique of ª The Author(s) 2012
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Aesthetic Marketing Practices DOI: 10.1177/0276146711433650
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Brigitte Biehl-Missal,1 and Michael Saren2

Abstract
This article introduces the concept of the ‘‘atmosphere’’ from aesthetic theory to contribute to critical research on the aesthetic,
embodied experience in retailing, and consumption spaces, which has received little attention in the marketing literature. The
article draws on the ‘‘new aesthetics’’ of Gernot Böhme which is not a theory of art or the works of art but considers the full
range of ‘‘aesthetic work’’ including marketing practices. Contributing to the art-versus-commerce debate, this framework sug-
gests differentiating between atmospheres in the arts and in marketing, and it suggests the continued relevance of Critical Theory.
The theoretical background is applied to a Starbucks coffee shop as an example for a seductive consumption atmosphere to make
evident issues of aesthetic pleasure and aesthetic manipulation. The concept of the atmosphere helps to consider aesthetics as an
active social power in a macromarketing context.

Keywords
aesthetics, art versus commerce, critical thinking, consumption, marketing theory, retailing, atmosphere, Starbucks, Adorno

Consumption extends beyond the acquisition and use of goods
because it involves important experiences by consumers
(Askegaard and Kjeldgaard 2002; Caru and Cova 2007;
Holbrook 2007; Holbrook and Hirschman 1982; Venkatesh and
Meamber 2008). Research has acknowledged that consumers’
experiences involve further aesthetic encounters and responses,
many of which are stimulated by aspects of the retail environ-
ment such as store design, events, and entertainment (Fiore and
Kim 2007; Underhill 2004), including elaborate and seductive
store designs (Böhme 2006, p. 152). Marketers employ aesthetic
techniques of lighting, staging, and decorating in order to create
sophisticated atmospheres for shopping (Dennis and King 2007),
which have become sites for various embodied experiences
(Korczynski 2005).
This article draws on aesthetic theory to explain how the
overall atmosphere of a carefully designed marketing setting
may unfold a sensual impact upon people’s bodies and minds.
It takes a critical approach, not aiming to improve the effective-
ness of marketing strategies by increasing people’s inclination
to consume, like the majority of studies in the field (Caldwell
and Hibbert 2002; Kellett and Totterdell 2008).The introduc-
tion of an aesthetic approach to the macromarketing debate
serves as a critical response to the commercial use of aesthetic
marketing practices. In common with other works (e.g.,
Bradshaw and Firat 2007), the prefix ‘‘critical’’ is used to signal
that the perspective subscribes to Frankfurt School Critical
Theory. The work of theorists such as Adorno, Marcuse, and
Horkheimer and Benjamin on the aesthetic dimension of
capitalism is used as a point of reference in this discussion.
Critical theory has been used as a point of reference for the
analysis of several macromarketing issues such as the art-
versus-commerce debate (Bradshaw et al. 2006; Holbrook
2005, 2006), gender aspects of global consumer inequality
(Hill and Dhanda 1999), a green commodity discourse
(Prothero and Fitchett 2000), postmodernism and marketing
(O’Shaughnessy and O’Shaughnessy 2002), and market–con-
sumer cooperation on Internet platforms (Bonsu and Darmody
2008). This article contextualizes Marxist concerns regarding
atmospheres in consumption contexts, considering them as
opportunities for aesthetic pleasure and as instruments for aes-
thetic manipulation as well. They may intensify peoples’ desire
to consume while hiding a reality of exploitation, thus consti-
tute a real social power. This particularly links with the art-
versus-commerce debate in the macromarketing field (e.g.,
Holbrook 2005, 2006) and introduces Böhme’s (1993, 1995,
2003, 2006) ‘‘new aesthetics’’ to this topic. Böhme suspends
the distinction between art and aesthetic practices in commerce
as a first step to summarize all creative efforts under the notion
of aesthetic work. In a second step however, he outlines
1
School of Management and Business, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth,
Ceredigion, United Kingdom
2
School of Management, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
Corresponding Author:
Michael Saren, School of Management and Business, University of Leicester,
Ken Edwards Building, Leicester, LE1 7RH, United Kingdom
Email: majs1@le.ac.uk

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Biehl-Missal and Saren
differences in both practices suggesting a distinction between
atmospheres in marketing and in the arts. This attempt of a
‘‘renewed determination of the critical front’’ (Böhme 2003,
p. 79) answers the call to extend the debate to a wider range
of aesthetic efforts (Bradshaw et al. 2006) and provides a basis
for future critical inquiry.
This article offers an interdisciplinary analysis of carefully
designed marketing atmospheres, which is consistent with
Kilbourne’s (2005) notion of macromarketing as transdisciplin-
ary. This topic falls clearly into the domain of macromarketing
according to Hunt’s (1981, p. 7) foundational definition, which
encompasses the study of marketing systems, their social impact,
and the marketing consequences of cultural and social change.
It also goes some way to address Wilkie and Elisabeth (2006,
p. 227) critique of the 2004 American Marketing Association
definition of marketing regarding its ‘‘limitations in addressing
the marketing system’s interactions’ with consumers.’’
The interdisciplinary approach of this study also draws on
knowledge accumulated in critical research history (Schroeder
2007) and is critical, not only of marketing practice but also of
the conventional domain of the marketing discipline insofar as
it adds a new dimension to current research and theory. It
continues the negotiation of meaning of Critical Marketing
(Brownlie and Hewer 2007) by following suggestions to
explore movements of resistance against marketing practices
(Böhm and Brei 2008), and leads to a more eclectic concept
by incorporating aesthetic considerations, which directly relate
to actual marketing phenomena.
The outline of the remainder of this article is as follows. The
next section reviews literature on retail atmospheres and
explains the role of consumers’ bodily experience. Böhme’s
(1993, 1995, 2003, 2006) new aesthetics as a continuation of
Critical Theory is outlined and this theoretical background is
applied to the critique of a marketing atmosphere using a Star-
bucks coffee shop as an example. The rationale behind this
choice is that the overall ambience of the store environment
is known as a key strategic tool for the company for managing
the consumer experience (Koehn 2001, p. 243). What makes
Starbucks unique in comparison to retail stores is that it is not
merely a place to shop but a space for people to gather and
enjoy its particular atmosphere. As the largest coffee chain,
Starbucks has received high public awareness and is not unop-
posed (Thompson and Arsel 2004) as also activists and perfor-
mance artists problematize acts of consumption in such spaces
(Perucci 2008). We finally discuss implications for marketing
research and the art-versus-commerce debate.
Consumers’ Bodily Experience of Retail
Atmospheres
Our focus is upon aesthetic experiences and the consumer’s
actual bodily experience of retail atmospheres. The ‘‘aesthetic,
embodied experience’’ has received only scant treatment in the
marketing literature (Joy and Sherry 2003, p. 259). Research on
atmospherics (Kotler 1973) is more concerned with a detailed
analysis of factors such as interior and exterior elements, layout
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169
and decoration, which influence buying behavior (Turley and
Milliman 2000).Related research on servicescapes tends to take
a more holistic view on the sensual impact of the built environ-
ment and has examined consumers’ use of the space for the
production of personally significant experiences (Bitner
1992; Sherry 1998a). Research on servicescapes has also
described some forms of resistance within carefully styled
atmospheres, critically evaluating the effects of overpowering
spectacular consumption environments on consumer behavior
and outlining ways in which a dialectical renegotiation of con-
sumption happens (Kozinets et al. 2004). Studies of the retail
environment construed consumer agency in the Nike Town
Chicago as dialectical rather than dichotomous, documenting
consumer accommodation and resistance (Peñaloza 1998;
Sherry 1998b). Thompson and Arsel (2004) describe how peo-
ple dislike the aesthetics of Starbucks coffee shops and resist its
hegemonic influence. Further criticism of marketing atmo-
spheres includes Murtola (2010) who faults contemporary
shopping malls for appropriating ideals of utopia and harmony
for purely commercial purposes. People are made apathetic and
numb, like on the lotus drug that she uses as a comparison: ‘‘As
long as you stay within this world and keep on shopping, you
can feel happy. But the happiness is ephemeral’’ (Murtola
2010, p. 47). With regard to aesthetic factors in such environ-
ments, Bradshaw et al. (2005) analyze the experience of musi-
cians performing background music who create something like
inoffensive and aural wallpaper and may suffer from a subse-
quent deaestheticization, and Bradshaw and Shankar (2008)
provide a critique of the entire phenomenon of the production
and consumption of music. While such works emphasize the
importance of embodied existence, they often focus on the con-
scious world of consumers as they explore the place.
Studies have shown that stronger competition among retail
settings has led to the development of new creative strategies
to provide attractive experiences (Feldman 2004) and also
happy and harmonious experiences (Murtola 2010).Fashion
shoppers, for example, have been found to respond to
experience-oriented strategies, which influence their mood and
make their shopping more pleasurable (Michon et al. 2007).
Researchers find that the constitution of consumer experiences
seems to be directly affected by sensory and emotional stimuli
from the retail environment to the extent that ‘‘where shoppers
go, what they see, and how they respond determines the very
nature of the shopping experience’’ (Underhill 1999, p. 44).
A range of factors is considered to be stimuli that may affect
consumers’ responses, such as ambient cues (e.g., music, light-
ing, scent, and temperature), design cues (e.g., parking, wall
color, size of space), and social cues (e.g., crowding, staff
appearance; Fiore and Kim 2007; Turley and Milliman
2000). Researchers have argued that symbolic qualities of store
environments communicate various messages to consumers, of
an emotional and sensual nature, and may bring about both
aesthetic and instrumental value (Fiore and Kim 2007). Apart
from the issue of strengthened brand identity as an outcome
of the design process (Din 2000), an effective retail design and
environment has been shown to directly affect consumers who
170
may be induced to exhibit increased approach behaviors and
stay longer in the store (Stoel, Wickliffe, and Lee 2004). The
Bodyshop’s use of green coloring, for example, combined with
the innovative layout and absence of aggressive selling, created
a seemingly environmentally friendly and relaxed atmosphere
(Kent and Stone 2007). Expensive Cartier jewelry stores in
malls have imposing doors in dark colors which create a certain
store atmosphere and discourage nonserious shoppers from
entering the premises—and thereby not fully succeed in con-
vincingly selling the image or fantasy of the jewelry purchase
toward women (Underhill 2004). It is suggested that retailers
could design their store to generate a fun and pleasurable shop-
ping experience by avoiding negative factors (Svensson 2007),
such as a confining layout, unappealing décor, and badly
informed salespeople since they create negative emotions and
distract from the shopping experience (Jones 1999).
Although the approaches in these studies are rather diverse,
they share an emphasis on aesthetics in terms of sensual per-
ception (also see Charters 2006). Extant perspectives reflect
that a certain mood emerges from the interaction of person and
environment—which is also made explicit in terms of the inter-
action approach (Ford and Håkansson 2006) in relationship
marketing and in a wider sense in the ideas in actor network
theory (Kjellberg and Helgesson 2007; Latour 2005; Law and
Urry 2004). Researchers have used various psychological con-
cepts such as a framework of cognition and emotion (Michon
et al. 2007; Spangenberg, Cowley, and Henderson 1996),
employed a more design-oriented, historical approach (Kent
and Stone 2007) or drawn on methods of conversation analysis
(Vom Lehn 2006) to shed light on the interplay of surroundings
and resulting atmospheres. Although the emotional and sensual
nature of perception is highlighted, aesthetic and critical
research approaches to these phenomena are underdeveloped
in the marketing discipline. This article’s focus on sensual per-
ception links with and extends beyond these latest definitions
of aesthetics in marketing research.
An Aesthetic Approach to Atmospheres
In order to explore the relation of environments with bodily and
sensual perception and to provide new ideas for marketing
research, this article draws on aesthetic theory, specifically the
new aesthetics by the contemporary philosopher and aestheti-
cian Gernot Böhme (1993, 1995, 2003, 2006). This is not a the-
ory of art or the works of art but accounts for actual market
developments and reevaluates the relationship between aes-
thetics and the economy, suggesting the continued relevance
of Critical Theory. The new aesthetics differs from traditional
aesthetics. The latter was developed in the eighteenth century
as a theory of art or of the work of art, typically concerned with
aesthetic judgments and categories such as the beauty or the
sublime. The function of traditional aesthetics to facilitate con-
versation about works of art has led to a dominance of language
and semiotics, at the expense of aesthetic presence and atmo-
sphere of an artwork. With regard to the increased aestheticiza-
tion of the economy—comprising marketers’ use of aesthetic
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Journal of Macromarketing 32(2)
practices—the task of the new aestheticians is not to deal with
only the fine arts but also to make the broad range of aesthetic
reality transparent and open to critical analysis (Böhme 1993,
p. 114), including the realm of marketing. In order to adopt this
wider viewpoint, the traditional approach to aesthetics needs to
be enhanced by a new theory of perception concerned with the
relation between environmental qualities and human states in
actual aesthetic environments (Böhme 1993, p. 125).
The new aesthetics is concerned with ‘‘aesthesis,’’ that is,
the sensual perception of the reality—and links with consumer
research that sees experience as the apprehension of something
via the sensorial and the corporeal, emphasizing the importance
of embodiment and the link between the mind and bodily feel-
ing (Joy and Sherry 2003). It uses the key notion of atmosphere,
which has become a concept of aesthetic theory (Schmitz 1964;
Böhme 1993, 1995). The idea of the atmosphere has a certain
tradition in the aesthetic discourse. Benjamin’s (1968) aura, for
example, was sought to determine a nimbus of distance and
respect surrounding original works of art—but absent in their
technical reproductions. The avant-garde movement however
proved that the declaration of any ready-made to be a work
of art instantly created/recreated an aura but also increased peo-
ple’s awareness of the aura, nimbus, and atmosphere that
extends beyond concrete qualities of art works. The concept
of the atmosphere holds on to this more and suggests that a cer-
tain atmosphere is perceptible in art products or original works
and also in natural objects, as indicated by Benjamin (1968),
and in any nonoriginal art works and any products of aesthetic
work (see next section) as well. Atmosphere is something that
is in a certain sense indeterminate, a spatially extended quality
of feeling. Benjamin explains that one breathes the aura, indi-
cating that it is absorbed bodily, allowing the atmosphere to
permeate the self—a dimension of corporeality in the experi-
ence of aura that disappears in Benjamin’s further employment
of the notion but is taken on in the new aesthetics (Böhme
1993, p. 117). Atmospheres are affective powers of feeling,
spatial bearers of moods, created by a range of different ele-
ments, ‘‘atmospheres are evidently what are experienced in
bodily presence in relation to persons and things or in spaces’’
(Böhme 1993, p. 119). The concept of the atmosphere which is
also a central notion in the current marketing debate enables us
to describe emotional responses in carefully designed market-
ing environments.
This approach serves to develop further critical reflection on
the functioning of atmospheres that has been criticized by
some of the extant literature. The aesthetician Böhme (2006)
asserts that respective architectures of seduction provide an
atmospheric scenery for consumption experiences, whereby
consumption has become a fundamentally aesthetic, but still
a manipulative and exploitative act of intensification and
heightening of life, suggesting that ‘‘aesthetics represents a
real social power’’ including ‘‘aesthetic pleasure’’ and ‘‘aes-
thetic manipulation’’ (Böhme 1993, p. 125). Böhme’s
approach can help criticize these aesthetic power relations
as it is emphasized that and explained how atmospheres touch,
invade, and permeate people’s bodies, being able to subtly
Biehl-Missal and Saren
influence and manipulate their emotions and moods, sensual
and mental states.
The New Aesthetics and a Critique of
Aesthetic Work and Atmospheres
Böhme’s focus on the aesthetic side of capitalism provides a
continuation of Critical Theory and develops some aspects of
Horkheimer’s and Adorno’s ([1947]1973) concept of the
culture industry, which has been the central point of reference
for a critique of aesthetic production. The original theory was
concerned with the commodification of art produced for the
mass industry, which promises cultural development by only
serves as a mass instrument to create false needs and beliefs.
Böhme suggests that ‘‘neither the commodity character of art
nor its technological-industrial reproducibility have done it
damage, and so-called mass culture is neither blandly uniform
nor repressive per se’’ (2003, p. 80).
Böhme’s new aesthetics aims to account for a changing
relationship between arts and business which has been reflected
in a huge number of works, for example, Andy Warhol’s
famous depiction of consumer products, and which has been
debated in many scholarly pieces (see Bradshaw et al. 2006;
Holbrook 2005;Venkatesh and Meamber 2006, Schroeder
2006). The approach presented here further acknowledges the
increasing prevalence of aesthetic forms, highlighting that
there is aesthetic pleasure—and also aesthetic manipulation
(Böhme 1993, p. 125).
The new aesthetics emphasizes the emotional, aesthetic
responses that are caused by all art works—and other forms
of aesthetic production as well. The new aesthetics considers
the full range of aesthetic work and sets forth ideas related to
Critical Theory. Walter Benjamin (1968) envisaged the possi-
bility of Pop Art before it actually existed and framed the
aestheticization of the reality with regard to political life. It
can also be suggested that nondifferentiating thoughts can be
found in Adorno’s work when popular music for instance is
approached with a conceptual rigor typically applied to classi-
cal forms. In the decline of culture into industrially produced
entertainment, they see an opportunity for aesthetic revalua-
tion, ‘‘The fusion of culture and entertainment that is taking
place today leads not only to a depravation of culture, but inevi-
tably to an intellectualization of amusement’’ (Horkheimer and
Adorno [1947]1973, p. 143).
Böhme’s (2003, p. 72) definition of ‘‘aesthetic work’’ goes
one step further and captures cases where art, once submitted
to industrial production, reappears, transformed, in design.
And then subsequently it may become art again. For example,
Takashi Murakami’s Cherry Blossom handbags for Louis
Vuitton are successful products and were also exhibited in the
Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. More generally, aes-
thetic work ‘‘designates the totality of activities which aim to
give an appearance to things and people, cities and landscapes,
to endow them with an aura, to lend them an atmosphere, or to
generate an atmosphere in ensembles.’’ The concept of the aes-
thetic laborer is hence not restricted to the world of the arts but
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171
encompasses the whole sphere of art proper and the ‘‘entire
spectrum from painter to artist, from designer to music
producer; it embraces all human activities that lend to things,
people and ensembles that more which goes beyond their han-
diness and objective presence, their materiality and practical-
ity’’ (Böhme 2003, p. 73). This can be perfectly applied to
the creation of marketing atmospheres. Benjamin’s (1999)
Arcades Project describes an early example, namely, the spe-
cial aesthetic experience of the flâneur in shopping environ-
ments at the beginning of the twentieth century. This
increasing aestheticization of the commodity world coincided
with the rise of the first department stores in Paris. Some of
today’s retail consumption spaces are even more sophisticated
products of aesthetic work.
This perspective, in accordance with recent marketing liter-
ature, emphasizes people’s pleasure being in aesthetic environ-
ments (Kozinets et al. 2004; Venkatraman and Nelson 2008). It
is appreciated that people may generate personal and pleasur-
able aesthetic experiences by being exposed to these atmo-
spheres. Also with regard to music, DeNora (2003), who
developed Adorno’s thoughts on listener response but adopted
a less critical stance toward industrial forms, emphasizes that
people may also appropriate Muzak for their own ends. Con-
trary to Adorno and Horkheimer, Böhme (2003, p. 80) holds
that ‘‘Aesthetic consumption (film, TV, advertising) can by
no means be disqualified as illusory satisfaction . . . or even
as an additional deception and dumbing-down of the public.
This type of critique relies upon the traditional difference
between being and appearance, reality and mere semblance.
Instead we have to realize that the advent of virtual reality has
established a new area of life situated beyond labor regimes and
life’s grim seriousness, an area in which people today can
invest their emotions and playfully and pleasurably rehearse
desired life forms.’’
The aesthetic economy however does not open the gates to
the realm of freedom and such a continuation of Critical Theory
still asserts that Horkheimer and Adorno’s ([1947]1973, p. 137)
diction holds true, ‘‘Amusement under late capitalism is the
prolongation of work.’’ The culture industry essay had already
made mention of repressive character of the aesthetic economy,
for example, the film’s homogenizing power (Horkheimer and
Adorno [1947]1973, p. 126), and still today the development of
desires such as to be seen, to dress up, to stage oneself—‘‘forms
the basis for a new, practically limitless exploitation’’ (Böhme
2003, p. 81). On this ground, consumption can become an obli-
gation, affluence a stress, extravagance a duty. Breaking this
general discussion down to the atmospheres, it needs to be sug-
gested that atmospheres in consumption contexts put people
under pressures, not allowing for liberating experiences.
Consequentially, in a second step, Böhme suggests differen-
tiating between widespread practices in aesthetic work and in
the arts. This is an important point for the critique of aesthetic
marketing practices. Adorno’s contrast between arts and enter-
tainment in the culture industry ([1947]1973), on which
Böhme’s thoughts are based, has a long tradition in macromar-
keting and remains a theme of great importance. Holbrook
172
(2005, 2006) has used the difference of critically acclaimed
aesthetic excellence and commercial appeal for a semiotic
analysis of films about jazz music and has again underlined the
potentially destructive force of market-driven economic reali-
ties. He argued that selling out to commercialism might be
tempting to the struggling jazz musician but detrimental for the
socially valuable art form. Bradshaw et al. (2006) suggest that
we should not limit research to the famous musicians, to jazz or
to melodrama but encourage a wider understanding of the often
complex relationship between art and commerce since the
Adorno-style dialectic still plays out within a wider spectrum
of cultural domains and artistic endeavors. Böhme’s theory can
be seen as an answer to this call as it considers actual aesthetic
endeavors.
Böhme attempts a ‘‘renewed determination of the critical
front’’ (2003, p. 79) based on the atmosphere, a concept central
to the new aesthetics. It is emphasized that the emotional exis-
tence in marketing atmospheres differs in several ways from
the atmosphere that people encounter in environments created
by autonomous art—this term describes art as it exists at the
latest since the eighteenth century when it was discharged of
defined functions in society and became an autonomous com-
munity of artists and critics (Böhme 1995, p. 16). Art is under-
stood as a special form of aesthetic work, which has its own
social function, namely the mediation of the encounter and
response to atmospheres in situations (e.g., theater, museums,
and exhibitions) set apart from action contexts (Böhme 1993,
p. 116). Böhme suggests that the function of art is to develop
human sensuality in such atmospheres defined to be not seduc-
tive or obliging but liberating (handlungsentlastend—1995,
p. 16). The purpose of art in this sense is to provide a space for
aesthetic experience, enabling people to dwell on the atmo-
sphere and emotionally and imaginatively explore, and feel
moods and moments without being influenced toward a spe-
cific purpose such as consumption. This is different to market-
ing settings that have a completely opposite purpose in aiming
at encouraging and increasing consumption via their seductive
atmospheres. It can be argued that seductive or obliging atmo-
spheres in marketing settings put people into action contexts by
eliciting specific positive responses from people in terms of an
increase of consumption. Böhme (1995, p. 16, 2006, p. 151)
argues that atmospheres in department stores are designed to
involve people in action contexts as they aim at putting people
in the mood for purchasing, aesthetically and emotionally
manipulating them.
The purpose of art—although it may be business oriented
and commodified—is to create a piece of art, not a tool for mar-
keting, without the aim of directly influencing people’s con-
sumption behaviors, maybe even with the aim of challenging
them in a more confrontational way. Kant’s famous definition
of art as ‘‘purposiveness without purpose’’ ([1790] 1951) is still
a point of reference in theories on art emphasizing its subver-
sive or liberating potential (McKenzie 2001). However, there
has recently been more debate on this issue such as Bradshaw,
Kerrigan, and Holbrook’s (2009) attempt at deproblematizing
the art versus commerce divide by suggesting ‘‘art is a tool
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Journal of Macromarketing 32(2)
for marketing in that the ultimate goal of the artwork is the
marketing of it.’’ Böhme, whose argument does not stand in
conflict to this view, also addresses the vivid consumption of
art. Even before Andy Wahrhol’s successful play with the arts
business and business art, many artists (not only the likes of
Jeff Koons and Damian Hirst) would have argued that they are
creating for the market. However, they still say that they create
an artwork, not a marketing instrument with a seductive atmo-
sphere and a purpose to increase specific acts of consumption.
An example may Andy Warhol’s celebrity paintings. These
highly priced objects still create a liberating atmosphere for
people exposed to them in that their massive materiality, color,
and patterns, provide an aesthetic, bodily experience open to a
range of different interpretations. They provide the opportunity
to play with thoughts on, for example, the nature of personality,
authenticity, and the relation to infinite reproducible imagery.
This more provocative and independent aesthetics of art
works, whatever their market value, is widely acknowledged
and also reflected in the marketing literature in assessments
of a ‘‘confrontational component’’ of art (Schroeder 2005,
p. 1297). The contemporary philosopher Jacques Rancière
(2007b), for example, sees the value of contemporary art in its
capacity to disturb and counteract, to question structures and
communities. Obviously, not every kind of art is liberating or
emancipating, as Rancière (2007a, p. 258, original italics)
emphasizes: ‘‘An art is emancipated and emancipating when
it renounces the authority of the imposed message, the target
audience, and the univocal mode of explicating the world, when,
in other words, it stops wanting to emancipate us.’’ It can be said
that forms of art and aesthetic work have liberating and stimulat-
ing atmospheres when they are not only free of dominant
cultural-ideological messages but also lack marketing messages
aiming to seduce and influence people in specific ways.
Similarly, Bradshaw et al. (2006, p. 224) suggest exploring
the intent of musicians to understand if they carry more artistic
intentions or ‘‘if they intend their music to be used for social
control.’’ Bradshaw and Holbrook (2008) with particular
regard to Muzak voice explicit concerns that cultural forms like
music are degraded by marketers as a means of social control.
From the perspective of atmospheres, Muzak creates seductive
and anaesthetizing ambiances, which neither challenge peo-
ple’s aesthetic perception nor provide them with an opportunity
to develop their sensuality. With regard to shopping environ-
ments, Murtola (2010) describes the combination of material
abundance and serene music as potentially peaceful and enter-
taining for people, yet in the end as seductive in terms of numb-
ing consumption. According to Böhme, such atmospheres do
not provide opportunities for people to develop their aesthetic
experience and thinking.
Starbucks Atmospheres
Methodological Remarks
This section provides methodological explanations on how to
apply Böhme’s aesthetic theory and the concept of atmosphere
Biehl-Missal and Saren
to a specific setting, a Starbucks store. The analysis is based on
official corporate imagery, provided by the Starbucks. Personal
visits to a number of Starbucks coffee houses also inform the
interpretations.
A perspective inspired by aesthetic theory emphasizes
issues of sensual interaction of people and settings, considering
people to be touched by and even sensually participating in the
atmosphere of the place. Considering for example semiotic
approaches traditionally used for means of interpretation to
be too limited, it is argued that visual clues, such as images, are
received not only as ensembles of signs but also have an impact
via the particular mood they create. Paintings depicting a mel-
ancholy scene, for example, ‘‘are not just signs for this scene
but produce this scene itself’’ (Böhme 1993, p. 124).
Such an aesthetic perspective acknowledges the intercon-
nection of sensual experiences. This requires an emphasis on
the ‘‘synesthetic’’ character of elements, which appeal to a
range of sensual and cognitive facilities (e.g., perceiving a
color as warm), rather than only emphasizing the social charac-
ter of elements (when, e.g., a golden object is cognitively
linked to wealth; Böhme 1995, p. 54). Because of its synes-
thetic character, which is informed by different senses, we are
able to describe material’s warmth or coolness in an atmo-
spheric sense. Cross-sensory metaphors are indicative of this
process, being typically used when referring to a warm color
or a high tone. The synesthetic character of perception is also
highlighted by studies in the marketing field. Joy and Sherry
(2003) for example indicate that the act of seeing also
influences other senses, such as smelling. Studies on aesthetic
perception acknowledge that smell can empower vision and
sound and can create and convey meanings on its own (Tolaas
2011).This emphasis on bodily, sensual, and interconnected
perception is commonly suggested in studies on the aesthetics
of organizations (Taylor and Hansen 2005).
The framework applied in this study refers to the concept of
the atmosphere to explain people’s synesthetic, cross-sensory,
and aesthetic perception. It is based on the idea that any
elements in the surrounding, which are perceived bodily, be
it visually, acoustically, or olfactory, have an emotional impact
on those exposed to them and create a certain mood in the peo-
ple present. The aesthetic approach also implies that objects,
via their presence, extend into and coin the atmosphere of a
place and influence people present. Drawing on the dimension
of corporeality and foregrounding the aesthetic and sensual
merging and the bodily perception of objects, spaces and peo-
ple (Böhme 1993; Schmitz 1964), the subject is considered to
be absorbing affective powers of feeling into her or his own
bodily state of being.
The aesthetic perspective adopted here acknowledges that
the atmosphere is perceived bodily and bypasses many rational
filters but is able to influence peoples’ understanding. The sen-
sual, aesthetic experience trough our five senses is often linked
to the generation of tacit, embodied knowledge which influ-
ences people’s behavior and interaction in and with organiza-
tions (Taylor and Hansen 2005, p. 1213).This generation of
aesthetic, bodily knowledge (of a company) is also valued in
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173
marketing research cited earlier on consumer’s bodily experi-
ence. In this sense, Böhme (1993, p. 125) asserts that atmo-
spheres, by subtly being able to influence people’s
perception, mood, and state of mind, constitute ‘‘a real social
power.’’ This will be illustrated in the following case study.
Analysis
The built environment is a key strategic tool for the Starbucks
company, so that the store design, including layout, lighting, and
furnishings, reinforces its commitment to fine coffee products
(Koehn 2001, p. 243). Schmitt and Simonson (1997, p. 124)
argued that Starbucks, through its aesthetically constituted
spaces, has succeeded in creating an associated aesthetic that
is as important to its success, if not more so, than the actual cof-
fee it sells. It is the particular atmosphere which counts here with
researchers emphasizing that Starbucks’ strategy foregrounds
the management of the consumer experience which ‘‘includes
not only what coffee customers drink, the interactions they have
with store employees, and the visual environment; it also encom-
passes the coffee aromas in the air, background music, and over-
all ambience of company stores’’ (Koehn 2001, p. 247). It is
highlighted that consumers, being exposed to the spatial arrange-
ments, colors, decoration, and overall situation, interact with the
atmosphere and create their own personally meaningful aesthetic
experiences (Venkatraman and Nelson 2008).
In the Starbucks coffee house, the space is defined by tall
columns, square cut forms, and large windows which constitute
a modern frame, suggesting openness, helping to create the
appearance of an accessible, inviting and friendly place. The
arrangement of the room is airy, allowing the subject to
emotionally and imaginatively extend into the space. The soft
armchairs, small tables, and yellow lamps appear cuddly due
to their round and soft forms. Due the social and synesthetic
qualities, the setting with plush furnishings and fittings may
be perceived as warm and cozy, and—as people know from
their bodily existence in the world—somewhat safe and inti-
mate. They are remindful of a living room and suggest a
homely and private setting, being able to induce sensations of
ease and a feeling of security in people. A warm, yellow light
emanating from the lamps and the warm materiality of brown
wood and plushy upholstery further supports this coziness.
Lighting is not only a sign but affects the human condition and
induces a particular state in people by being received through
not only the eyes but also the skin. Via the atmosphere light
in this setting may touch people, inducing a sense comfort,
putting them in a state of relaxation. These factors obviously
contribute to what has been described as aesthetic pleasure.
The overall atmosphere is further influenced by another,
invisible element: the persistent and durable influence of odor.
Even if the source of smell is neutralized, flavors linger in the
air for long and endow the space with another sensual dimen-
sion. Coffee products typically release an aromatic smell that
invisibly but strongly contributes to the enjoyable atmosphere.
Smell works on the body, as also emphasized by Joy and Sherry
(2003), entering the body via the nose and dissolving a
174
Figure 1. Starbucks Coffee House (Photo courtesy Starbucks Corporation).
distinction between subject and object. It dissolves any dis-
tance and makes people part of the ambiance.
The air in such Starbucks branches is furthermore filled with
what can be referred to as an unobtrusive rippling of musical
sound. Research on background music has described its dis-
crete function on the atmosphere and uses the metaphor of a
wallpaper (Bradshaw et al. 2005) and aesthetic theory empha-
sizes how music is able to tint the atmosphere, being absorbed
by people bodily present. Filling the environment and entering
the body as an internal resonance and vibration, sound makes
people become part of the rhythm pervading the space. The
music typically used in these coffee shops further encourages
a bodily and mental relaxation.
On the visual dimension corporate colors and the Starbucks
logo on the cups and in the windows give the brand a ubiqui-
tous presence. Again, these images are more than signs or
corporate symbols, but unfold an impact on people via their
materiality and presence. The massive round emblem in the
windows emphasizes the importance and general presence of
the brand and the company, the small logos pop up at different
points in the room, speckling the atmosphere and subtly and
constantly reinforcing the values attached to the brand. This
is typically completed by baristas performing their emotional
labor with standards of friendliness, the presentation of brew-
ing equipment and coffees, and printed posters and other media
with references to corporate values. Emotional work has been
defined by Hochschild (1983, p. 7) as ‘‘the management of feel-
ing to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display.’’
With regard to Böhme (1993), this can be seen as another form
of aesthetic labor contributing to the creation of atmospheres in
spaces, in relation to people.
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Journal of Macromarketing 32(2)
The view on this official photo (see Figure 1) is not spoiled
by any disturbing factors, such as litter, consumer crowding or
dissatisfied customers and stakeholders, that may bring ele-
ments of confrontation and resistance into the carefully styled
room and may dilute or even destroy the atmosphere. In the
Starbucks setting, different features play together for creating
a somewhat relaxed and enjoyable, pleasurable atmosphere that
invites extended stays and increased consumption of coffee
drinks, food, and related products.
The image supports the romantic view of the chain which is
created by Starbucks founder and chief executive officer
(CEO) Schultz (1997) when referring to Starbucks as a realiza-
tion of the ‘‘third place’’ (see Oldenburg 1989), a casual social
space outside of work and home in the tradition of French cafés
and German beer gardens. Starbucks as a third place is seen as
more than a ‘‘haven of escape from home and work’’ (Schultz
1997, p. 21) and is said to be a space with a unique atmosphere
and a strong similarity to a ‘‘good home in the psychological
comfort and support that it extends’’ (Schultz 1997, p. 40). Lit-
erature cited earlier underlines that these spaces, as separate
from home and work, may provide an alternative space for
causal socializing (e.g., Venkatraman and Nelson 2008).
The rapid expansion of the chain, however, has resulted
in corporate concerns that bemoan people’s assessment of a
watering down of the Starbucks experience to sterile and
cookie-cutter stores, with the CEO stating that some outlets
‘‘no longer have the soul of the past and reflect a chain of stores’’
rather than the ‘‘warm feeling of a neighborhood store’’ (Gross
2007). Researchers have evidenced a trend of consumers
looking for a contrast to the commercialized and ‘‘boring’’ or
‘‘unappealing’’ experiences offered by such overstandardized
Biehl-Missal and Saren 175

Figure 2. Reverend Billy and the Church of Earthalujah in a Creative Protest, Austin, Texas, March 10, 2007. (Source: Mason Wendell,
‘‘Reverend Billy/What Would Jesus Buy’’ from Wikipedia Creative Commons, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Reverend_Billy_
protesting_against_Starbucks.jpg)

servicescapes, including Starbucks (Thompson and Arsel 2004).
Overall there has been much criticism of the reality that is con-
structed by the Starbucks coffee houses.
With regard to the study of atmospheres, it needs to be
emphasized that they do not only create aesthetic pleasure but
also aesthetic manipulation. The transnational organization has
been accused for destructing neighborhoods and offering fake
communities in place of locally owned spaces, while further
criticism extends to numerous human rights and environmental
violations, including the exploitation of workers and rejection
of fair trade agreements (Perucci 2008; Talen 2007). Rather
than being a truly alternative public sphere open to community
and democracy, the atmosphere in the stores veils the reality
outside and creates a substitute of peacefulness and any related
disturbing and political actions are rapidly ended. For example,
the performance activist, William Talen, has been arrested for
initiating theatrical preacher performances in his role of
Reverend Billy, who aimed to reclaim the privatized space of
Starbucks as a public space and contested the child labor prac-
tices that the Starbucks corporation supports (McClish 2009).
The stores have been referred to as a fake café with a deceptive
and manipulative atmosphere where ‘‘we can’t know the real
price of that latte’’ (Talen 2003, p. 14). ‘‘O God Almighty, save
us from consumer happiness, that vague pleasantness of
hipness by default’’ (Talen 2003, p. 17; Figure 2).
The new aesthetics accounts for these aspects by emphasiz-
ing that there is not only aesthetic pleasure but also aesthetic
manipulation with aesthetics representing a real social power
(Böhme 1993). This section has discussed how atmospheres
constitute the common reality of the perceiver and the per-
ceived in a mutual process where subjects make sense of what
they perceive but also are passively impressed and influenced
by aesthetic factors. Aesthetics represents a social power when
it manipulates states in people and when it unfolds its potential
to construct a certain political reality. The continuation of Crit-
ical Theory reminds us that capitalism still depends on real
worldwide exploitation and relations of violence (Böhme
2003, p. 80) and finds a starting point for critique by adopting
a macromarketing perspective and looking behind the results of
aesthetic efforts.
Conclusion and Implications
This article has introduced the new aesthetics as a contempo-
rary theory that goes beyond the world of arts to consider the
full range of aesthetic work. It extends Frankfurt School

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176
Critical Theory by highlighting the potentially manipulative
character of actual aesthetic developments. The discussion
builds on aesthetic approaches in the marketing field that
emphasize the holistic, bodily experience (Joy and Sherry
2003) and shows, with reference to a Starbucks coffee shop
as an example, that atmospheres are spaces for emotional par-
ticipation. Literature on atmospheres and on servicescapes in
particular has discussed how a dialectical renegotiation of con-
sumption happens in such environments (Kozinets et al. 2004),
and the present analysis has further illuminated how people
react to atmospheres. This perspective, in accordance with
recent marketing literature, legitimizes people’s pleasure
within aesthetic environments (e.g., Venkatraman and Nelson
2008). Rather than pejoratively judging the effects of these
atmospheres as encouraging mindless consumption, we
appreciate that people may have personal and pleasurable aes-
thetic experiences while being exposed to these atmospheres.
This study further demonstrates that atmospheres in consump-
tion contexts are both an opportunity for aesthetic pleasure and
an instrument for aesthetic manipulation, which raises issues of
complexity and critique for the normative concept of the
so-called ‘‘Experience Economy’’ (Pine and Gilmore 1999).
The aesthetic approach also emphasized how people are
exposed to aesthetic elements that enter their bodies and via
a sensual, corporeal perception influence their moods and
states of mind. The understanding of aesthetic manipulation
extends to a higher dimension when these atmospheres, pro-
duced by aesthetic work, help veil and hide unfair and exploi-
tative social practices and production conditions. The analysis
of a Starbucks shop shows how different features play together
to create an enjoyable atmosphere, a romantic idealized reality
of its own, which differs from the contested corporate reality
and its less harmonious interaction with other groups of stake-
holders, including critics. More generally, in a continuation of
Critical Theory, such atmospheres can be considered as instru-
ments for mass manipulation which do not offer people a space
to develop sensuality and thinking but aim to intensify rather
than satisfy people’s desire to consume, turning consumption
into an obligation and strengthening an economy which is
based on the exploitation of labor and consumption alike.
Aesthetics is framed herein as a real social power that works
subtly, sometimes invisibly, and creates, via embodied emo-
tional response, tacit knowing in people that influences their
beliefs and values. This is not restricted to an aesthetically plea-
sant commercial atmosphere but is also present in product
design, branding, and other factors that consumers experience
holistically. Since aesthetics has become the new criterion for
competition, it is important that consumers question aesthetic
ways of knowing and criticize their own behaviors learned over
time from being exposed to aesthetic creations. This is where
aesthetic and artistic forms of resistance such as Reverend Billy
help people to open their eyes.
From a macromarketing perspective, such active interven-
tions are important for securing consumer participation due
to the nature of atmospheres: We have attempted to show how
spaces create atmospheres, subtle forms of power, which are
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Journal of Macromarketing 32(2)
indeterminate, spatial bearers of moods, and affective pow-
ers of feeling that influence people’s corporeal perception
and state of mind. By recognizing aspects of interaction,
as well as those of manipulation, a potential exists for resis-
tance and possible change originating from people con-
sciously altering these spaces. However, other research has
pointed to difficulties in this respect. For example, Brad-
shaw and Holbrook’s (2008) study of background music
found a lack of meaningful counterplay by consumers,
which the authors suggest may be influenced by the seduc-
tive or anaesthetizing impact of these atmospheres, leaving
consumers with no option to go elsewhere.
Consumer activation is a critical point which has also been
addressed by philosophers such as Jacques Rancière
(2004, p. 13) who comments with regard to the aesthetic and
spatial dimension of designed, theatrical settings of politics:
‘‘Politics revolves around what is seen and what can be said
about it, around who has the ability to see and the talent to
speak, around the properties of spaces and the possibilities of
time.’’ The Rancièrian notion of aesthetics bears similarities
to Böhme with its focus on aesthetic experiences, on not entail-
ing a theory of artwork and the beautiful, and on conveying the
idea of the proactive spectator or participant.
Raymond Williams (1977) introduced the concept of
structure of feeling to characterize the lived experience of the
quality of life at a particular time and place. He characterizes
it as a structure, but views it operating as a subtle and intangible
part of our social activities. One question brought to the fore by
this article is what structure of feeling forms these atmospheres
of seduction? The recent so-called spatial turn in social science
emphasizes and problematizes the materiality of thinking,
represented most notably by the ubiquitous—and much
criticized—actor-network-theory (Law and Urry 2004). The
broader spatial and material theory however provides a philo-
sophical and ontological underpinning for the contested mate-
riality of the real world (Lefebvre [1974]1991). Thrift (2006, p.
139) notes that this ‘‘has proved to be a move of extraordinary
consequence because it questions categories like material, life,
and intelligence through an emphasis on the unremitting mate-
riality of a world where there are no pre-existing objects.
Rather, all kinds of hybrids are being continually recast by pro-
cesses of circulation within and between particular spaces.’’
Kozinets, Hemetsberger, and Schau (2008) draw attention to
the collective dimension of interactivity between consumers
and aesthetics. Although the present research does not discuss
online crowds, it does highlight the collective aspects of crea-
tive perception of retail aesthetics. Far from constituting an
individual aesthetic, it addresses instead crowds or swarms of
shoppers who are gathered together with collective reactions
and perceptions of aesthetic atmospheres. This may have impli-
cations for consumer well-being, positive and negative, by
meeting or distorting so-called higher-order needs through aes-
thetics (Sirgy, Lee, and Rahtz 2007, p. 344). In their critique of
consumer cocreation as empowerment Bonsu and Darmody
(2008, p. 364) analyze this aspect of ‘‘creationist capitalism’’
in which ‘‘containing the new unmanageable consumer has
Biehl-Missal and Saren
become a major goal of the firm.’’ One critical interpretation
therefore regards aesthetics as a means of consumer manage-
ment through containment.
This attention to aesthetics in marketing is not novel how-
ever. Levy and Czepiel (1974) recognized the importance of
cultural critique and the role of aesthetics in marketing and
many cultural and symbolic studies have built on this work
(e.g., McCracken 1986). ‘‘Levy’s recognition of the symbolic
nature of the marketplace has led other researchers to consider
how consumers use and produce those symbolic resources in
their own ways. Levy saw the consumer as a naturally contex-
tualized, socially expressive, experiential being’’ (Harris 2007,
p. 12).
This article has continued the negotiation of Critical
Marketing by proposing a more diverse approach with the
incorporation of aesthetic and philosophical considerations,
postulating that it makes a difference through which gate a
topic is accessed. It answers calls to study and explain market-
ing as consumers experience it, taking into account their bodily
and sensual participation by drawing on research conducted far
beyond the confines of conventional marketing theory and by
adopting a clear perspective on marketing and consumption
practices as social and cultural phenomena (Saren 2007; Warde
2005).
For renewing the determination of a critical front in a con-
tinuum of what has been termed practices of aesthetic work,
a distinction between aesthetic practices in marketing and in
the arts was proposed. This distinction relates to and develops
extant debates in the macromarketing field about art versus
commerce (e.g., Bradshaw et al. 2006; Holbrook 2005) as it
extends beyond arts to more macro issues and captures actual
aesthetic endeavors in marketing settings. Artistic atmospheres
can be seen as laboratories for people to develop their sensual-
ity, enabling them to experience a mood, to dwell on an ambi-
ence, to experiment with bodily perceptions, and maybe to
reflect critically on diverse issues. On the other hand, other
practices of aesthetic work in carefully designed retail
atmospheres are seductive in that they are intended to increase
people’s consumption and they may be fundamentally manip-
ulative in creating a deceptive and peaceful reality that covers
practices of exploitation.
The study contributes to approaches highlighting the close-
ness of marketing practice to art and gives further evidence of
the aesthetic flows between culture and commerce. Future
research could dig deeper into the interplay of art and market-
ing by analyzing emerging forms of performative interventions
of playful dissent that interrupt the space of inhumane transna-
tional chains and influences corporate practices (McClish
2009). Such work would consider activists and artists, such
as Reverend Billy (Talen 2003), who focus on aesthetic
experience and impact on the audiences and corporations. This
could add a critical dimension since the confrontational compo-
nent of art identified by Schroeder (2005, p. 1297) has not been
discussed to any significant extent.
Such approaches could be extended further by introducing
an ethical dimension, questioning whether the provision of
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177
mere seductive experiences of consumption can provide a
space for the development of human sensuality and the stimu-
lation of new ways of thinking, or manipulates and exploits
commercially fostered desires. This can also be linked to the
discussion of consumer desires seen as embodied passions
(Belk, Ger, and Askegaard 2003). With reference to literature
on fair trade, the mere enjoyment of carefully created consump-
tion spaces can be criticized when people take comfort in their
own ignorance. For example, Starbucks’ consumers may not
want to think about matters of exploitation and environmental
destruction when enjoying a tasty product in a nice and calm
setting. In the macromarketing context, an increased awareness
of aesthetic power in consumers can increase a critical under-
standing and suggest new ways of living with commercial
practices.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the editor and three anonymous Jour-
nal of Macromarketing reviewers for their helpful and constructive
comments, which have resulted in a substantially improved article.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to
the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.
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Bios
Brigitte Biehl-Missal is a visiting researcher at Aberystwyth Univer-
sity, United Kingdom. Her PhD in theater, film, and media studies is
from Frankfurt University, Germany, where she also studied at The
Institute of Social Research (The Frankfurt School). Her research
interests include the interplay of art, aesthetics and organizations, and
critical approaches. Her research appeared in the Journal of Manage-
ment Studies, Consumption, Markets and Culture, and Culture and
Organization.
Michael Saren is professor of marketing at Leicester University,
United Kingdom. He was a founding editor of the journal Marketing
Theory and coeditor of Rethinking Marketing, (1999, SAGE) and Crit-
ical Marketing(2007, Elsevier). His introductory text is Marketing
Graffiti (2006, Elsevier).