BrandBox: Cargo Cults and Culture

PRINTCast: The PRINT Podcast Studio is a curated collection of cutting-edge podcasts we love about design, creativity, branding, books, and further subjects afield. Soon, we’ll have a dedicated digital listening room. In the meantime, we present the latest episode of BrandBox, “a (playful and thoughtful) podcast on the strategies and effects of brands.”

On this episode of BrandBox, hosts Tom Guarriello and Mark Kingsley philosophically explore the phenomenon of "cargo cults"—"a particular form of magical thinking expressed through very elaborate real-world behavior"—and the ritualized practice of sympathetic magic in agencies and economics.

Show Notes

• Cargo Cult.

• Holy Materialism: The Cargo Cults of Tanna.

• In the 20th Century, Anthropologists Fell Over Themselves to Study the “Cargo Cult” Phenomenon in the South Pacific. But Was it Really a New Religion—or Just a Western Fantasy?

• Serge Gainsbourg—Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971).

• The Story Behind Jane Birkin’s Transformation into Melody Nelson.

• Sympathetic Magic.

• The 12 Character Archetypes.

• Brand Strategy → Brand Archetypes.

• Brand Archetypes: The Definitive Guide [36 Examples].

• David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet.

• Brand Archetypes: The Ultimate Guide With 48 Examples.

• The 2020 Guide on Brand Archetypes and How to Use Them in Your Brand’s Favor (With Examples).

• Capitalism is in Crisis. To Save it, We Need to Rethink Economic Growth.

• Why the Current Crisis Could Give Capitalism the Kick it Needs.

• Externality.

• William McDonough.

• Cradle to Cradle Design.

• Georges Bataille, The Accursed Share: An Essay on General Economy.

• John Maynard Keynes.

• GDP is Not a Measure of Human Well-Being.

• Ad Astra (2019).

• ‘How Dare You!’: Greta Thunberg Rages at ‘Fairytales of Eternal Economic Growth’ at UN Climate Summit.

• Tech Will Save Us.

• Helena Norberg-Hodge: The Economics of Happiness.

• What if Local and Diverse is Better Than Networked and Global?

SVA Masters in Branding program // Music courtesy of Mikel Rouse // Dr. Tom Guarriello // Mark Kingsley