The study conducted by Duncombe mainly focused on analyzing the fetishism associated with a product, the activities of consumers, and the tactical application of fantasy in the advertisements. The motivation for the study comes from the fact that the consumer activists continually grapple with the distinct and peculiar nature of the commodities in agreement with Karl Marx’s prediction (Duncombe, 359). The phantasmagoric character of the products is attributable to the consumer activists’ development of fantasy as their primary tools of attack through the adoption of an approach that ensures de-fetishizing of the commodities.
Duncombe considers two approaches adopted by the consumer activist strategies in de-fetishizing the products. The first method is revelatory while the other is the restorative approach. The revelatory approach tends to focus on revealing the actual sociopolitical history that surrounds the commodities. The history, in most cases, considers the raw materials of the product, labor practice attributable to its production and consumption, and the value associated with the use of the commodity. The revelatory approach plays a critical role in ensuring that the laborers, for instance, obtain a guarantee for the fair labor practices. For example, the revelation by the US students group regarding the dire working conditions that the workers charged with the role of the production of shirts and hats with the university logos resulted in the adjustment of the labor practices.