Modern Australian

Where 'woke' came from and why marketers should think twice before jumping on the social activism bandwagon

  • Written by Abas Mirzaei, Assistant Professor - Branding, Macquarie University
Where 'woke' came from and why marketers should think twice before jumping on the social activism bandwagonThe woke concept has morphed from social licence to caricature. Samantha Sophia/Unsplash, CC BY-SA

First used in the 1940s, the term “woke” has resurfaced in recent years as a concept that symbolises awareness of social issues and movement against injustice, inequality, and prejudice.

But popularity has diluted its meaning and the idea...