Tangled Goods - by Iddo Tavory & Sonia Prelat & Shelly Ronen

About the Book

"The advertising industry seems like one of the most craven manifestations of capitalism, with large firms crafting creative concepts designed to make big companies bigger through the sale of dubious if not downright harmful products. In Tangled Goods, authors Iddo Tavory, Sonia Prelat, and Shelly Ronen consider an important dimension of the advertising industry that appears to depart from the industry's consumerist foundations: pro bono ad campaigns. Interviewing more than 100 advertisers, the authors trace the complicated web of meanings of the "good" in these pro bono projects. Doing something altruistic often helps employees feel more at ease working for big pharma or corporate banks, and often these projects afford them greater creative leeway than they normally have, not to mention greater potential rewards and recognition. Though the authors uncover selfish motivations behind altruistic work, they are more interested in considering how these various notions of the good come together and fall apart, with different motivations and benefits rising to the surface at different moments. This book sheds new light on how goodness and prestige, personal and altruistic motivations, interact to produce value for individuals and institutions"--

Book Synopsis

A novel investigation of pro bono marketing and the relationship between goods, exploring the complex moral dimensions of philanthropic advertising.

The advertising industry may seem like one of the most craven manifestations of capitalism, turning consumption into a virtue. In Tangled Goods, authors Iddo Tavory, Sonia Prelat, and Shelly Ronen consider an important dimension of the advertising industry that appears to depart from the industry's consumerist foundations: pro bono ad campaigns. Why is an industry known for biting cynicism and cutthroat competition also an industry in which people dedicate time and effort to "doing good"?

Interviewing over seventy advertising professionals and managers, the authors trace the complicated meanings of the good in these pro bono projects. Doing something altruistic, they show, often helps employees feel more at ease working for big pharma or corporate banks. Often these projects afford them greater creative leeway than they normally have, as well as the potential for greater recognition. While the authors uncover different motivations behind pro bono work, they are more interested in considering how various notions of the good shift, with different motivations and benefits rising to the surface at different moments. This book sheds new light on how goodness and prestige interact with personal and altruistic motivations to produce value for individuals and institutions and produces a novel theory of the relationship among goods: one of the most fraught questions in sociological theory.

Review Quotes

"If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, Tavory et al. reveal that the path to heaven is paved with morally ambiguous and flexible ones. This book is a true pleasure to read, and it opens exciting paths for future research."--Hannah Wohl, author of Bound by Creativity: How Contemporary Art Is Created and Judged

"The authors offer a subtle analysis of the practices of pro-bono advertising that opens a window into the social world of advertising and of corporate social responsibility, as well as a thoughtful and compassionate account of the human and moral dimension of life in business. This work is an original contribution to cultural sociology and the sociology of values and valuation."--Monica Krause, author of The Good Project: Humanitarian NGOs and the Fragmentation of Reason

About the Author

Iddo Tavory is associate professor of sociology at New York University. He is the author of Summoned: Identification and Religious Life in a Jewish Neighborhood and coauthor of Measuring Culture as well as Abductive Analysis and Data Analysis in Qualitative Research. Sonia Prelat is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at New York University. Shelly Ronen is a research scientist for the Center for Guaranteed Income Research at the University of Pennsylvania.