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Are Marketing's Metaphors Good for it?

Marketing is a rich mix of metaphors, ranging from Customer is King and Brand DNA to the ostensibly immortal Product Life Cycle. Metaphors are generally regarded as “a good thing”, since today's so-called Creative Economy is predicated on analogical thinking and imaginative juxtapositions. Metaphors obscure as much as they illuminate, however, and it is arguable that the profusion of contradictory metaphors is adversely affecting marketing's development. The Relationship Marketing metaphor, for example, is not only inappropriate but damaging in certain situations. This paper steps back from the search for new and improved metaphors and asks whether marketing's metaphors are good for it.