COP 03 / Synthesis

Synthesis / General




Upon my visit to the Vatican City, I noticed that even the most sacred place for the catholic faith had a gift shop, signage and it’s own image. This prompted the question, “is religion a brand?”. Throughout my writing I have explored various texts on the topic of brand theory, alongside studying sociological thinkers to gain a knowledge of how brands attract a consumer, and to understand the nature and purpose of Christianity and religion in our society. What roles does this phenomenon have today, and if it is becoming branded, is this a positive or a negative thing?

I have explored how different aspects of contemporary consumer culture has had an effect on the methods which religious rhetoric is communicated, and if this has had an effect on religion becoming marketed to the individual and the masses. Is there a need for religion to adapt to modern society and the influx of technology? Through exploration within my case studies, I have investigated how existing brands and musicians have used religious content, both visual and semantically.


For my practical project, the task was to rebrand holy water into a successful product which can be bought by the consumer. Through the use of rhetoric and branding relating back to key thinker Vance Packard and the eight Hidden Needs, the aim is to entice non-religious individuals towards the act of faith, and to maintain the bonds of the religious consumers to their existing faith. Forming a correlation between my research into religion’s strive to remain current in a cluttered ‘marketspace’, the aim was to produce a resolution that was contemporary and exciting, rather than conforming to Christianity’s traditional stereotype. Even though the product is simply water, it is the connotations which change the purpose. The water is sold to the public by promoting it as a cosmetic product that helps the individual be forgiven by god, and to cleanse themselves of sins and impurities. By revisiting Packard’s hidden needs, it is important that a selection are implemented onto the advertising for the product. The product will be sold as a spray bottle, in the shape of a white rock relating back to the rolling stone in front of Jesus’ tomb; giving the product a natural, raw and organic feel, whilst communicating purity through colour. Although having an unrefined, natural appearance, the branding for the product will adopt contemporary treatments, to engage a younger more commodity-conscious generation. The target audience is young adults, religious or non-religious. To appeal to the non-religious demographic, the product must look interesting. It is a ‘rock’ without being a rock, using the natural substance’s appearance rather than physical material. In order to appeal to those who are religious, the aim was to convey religion in a new light yet still capture the sacred side through imagery and semiotics.

It must compete with other products along the same lines to stand out on a shelf. In relation to the essay, the product tests the boundaries on how far religious organisations will go to spread the message and generate profit. The project pushes my question and applies the various methods of branding and advertising onto a religious artefact, and explores whether this is a positive to the direction for Christianity.