The Internet has the potential to change the scope and dynamics of consumer activism. In the 21st Century, consumers around the world are able to join together in an online forum to voice their opposition to corporate domination. Online anti-brand communities are receiving increasing recognition for their widespread popularity. Based on the website observations and consumer activist interviews, an understanding of why online anti-brand communities form and how the Internet shapes the educative character of the recent social movements is provided.

There is a social trend for consumers to join together to oppose globalized corporate agendas. Anti-branding demonstrations are evolving as a new form of consumer activism. Using emerging technology, consumer activist communities are able to form and communicate solely in cyberspace. Anti-brand communities of this nature are built around common social and political interests. Communities form online because people are able to come together, regardless of geographical proximity, and identify with a common need, goal, or identity. Various anti-brand consumer groups are easily located on the Internet and have formed to support the collective efforts of consumers who resist marketplace practices.

Due to widespread anti-branding participation and recognition, scholars are labeling present activist demonstrations as an anti-brand movement. Tilly (1999) states that a social movement is recognizable when "it consists of a sustained challenge to power holders." The anti-brand movement is a sustained challenge to powerful corporations. Within social movements, the centrality of the group's vision of social justice drives it to act. Group members collectively make meaning out of larger social, economic, and political activities. In the anti-brand movement, members construct a vision of social justice in a corporate-dominated world, and this vision drives the community to action.

Historically, social movements mobilized support through the development of clearly defined goals that attempted to deliver benefits to a narrow segment of the society. In sociology, movements that occurred in the US between the years 1945 and 1970 are known as `old social movements' and are associated with economic growth, distribution, and security (e.g., workers' rights, civil rights). Family, work, and consumption-centered social matters were disputed with clearly defined goals to enhance the political-economic system (e.g., justice, liberty, equality, emancipation). Movements that occurred in the US after 1970 are known as `new social movements' and represent modern culture. New movements are associated with peace, feminism, ecology, and personal autonomy (e.g., gay and lesbian movement, feminist movement, environmental protection movement).

Advertising Express Magazine, Online Anti-brand Communities, Consumer Activism, Geographical Proximity, Environmental Protection, Corporate Behavior, Business Practices, Marketing Practices, Branding Strategies, Internet Capabilities, Marketing Research Tools, Customer Loyalty.