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Magical Capitalism pp 163–189Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Magic of Paradox: How Advertising Ideas Transform Art into Business and the Ordinary into the Extraordinary

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Abstract

Malefyt offers an intriguing analysis of how commercial advertising operates as a magical network of paradoxes. As an aesthetic art form and also business enterprise, advertising enlists an elite few of advertising creatives to transform ordinary mass products into unique aspirational ideals through idea creation. The process begins with transient idea ephemera but, through networked transformations, it solidifies ideas into human relationships and advertised product goods across contexts and audiences. Malefyt identifies three elements—the magician, formula, and rite (also recognized by Mauss and Malinowski)—as essential to magical production and network connections. The chapter concludes by revealing how symbolic power and authority in advertising are surrounded by contradiction and ambiguity, which enable the manipulation of reality as a key feature of magic, both inside and outside advertising agencies.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University, New York, NY, USA

    Timothy de Waal Malefyt

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  1. Timothy de Waal Malefyt
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Correspondence to Timothy de Waal Malefyt .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

    Brian Moeran

  2. Gabelli School of Business Fordham University, New York, NY, USA

    Timothy de Waal Malefyt

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de Waal Malefyt, T. (2018). The Magic of Paradox: How Advertising Ideas Transform Art into Business and the Ordinary into the Extraordinary. In: Moeran, B., de Waal Malefyt, T. (eds) Magical Capitalism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74397-4_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74397-4_7

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-74397-4

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