An introduction to the special issue “A taste of paradise”. Discusses the various representations of paradise over time and asserts that these have always reflected the society that produced them. Stresses that marketing is unavoidably implicated in our perceptions of paradise. Refers to the...

Harry Potter is one of the most amazing consumer crazes of recent years (Blake 2002). So much so, that there can't be a single person anywhere who hasn't heard of 'the boy who lived' and the best-selling books that bear his name (Rowling 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003). To date, five books in the...

These days, every self-respecting travel writer feels obligated to serve a tour of duty in Ireland (Belfrage 1988; McCrum 1999; O ’R ourke 1989; Theroux 1985). This Irish literary pilgrimage has become so jaded that recently one inspired scribbler sought to rejuvenate the genre by hitchhiking Around...

Few cities in the UK lack an ‘authentic’ Irish bar, be it O’Neill’s, Scruffy Murphy’s or Shifty O’Shea’s. Theme pubs, like theme parks, theme hotels and theme restaurants, are very big business. Yet the marketing academy seems somewhat reluctant to investigate such establishments,...