Kourtney Kardashian’s wellness brand, Lemme, is a testament to the power of celebrity culture and its role in driving consumer behaviour. Through carefully curated marketing and the weight of Kardashian’s public persona, Lemme has positioned itself as more than a collection of supplements. It’s a lifestyle, a promise of better living, and a subtle directive to consume to pursue personal wellness. This interplay of celebrity influence and media complicity directly ties into the concept of manufacturing consent, as Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky explored.
The media surrounding Lemme operates as a mechanism for manufacturing consent, shaping public perception and encouraging widespread acceptance of the brand’s underlying messages. When we encounter Lemme on social media, in celebrity interviews, or even in casual recommendations from influencers, we witness a convergence of interests between Kardashian, her brand, and the media platforms that amplify her voice. These platforms, often reliant on advertising dollars and clicks, are incentivised to highlight Lemme positively, giving little room for scrutiny or critique.
Manufacturing consent isn’t just about suppressing disagreement; it’s about creating an environment where questioning the status quo feels unnecessary. With Lemme, the media doesn’t outright suppress critical voices. The overwhelming volume of positive coverage, coupled with Kardashian’s cultural status, creates an illusion of universal approval. This normalises the products themselves and the idea that wellness is something we must buy to achieve.
The media acts as a filter, much like the one described in Herman and Chomsky’s framework. It elevates narratives that serve corporate and elite interests, in this case, the commodification of wellness—while marginalising perspectives that might challenge the need for products like Lemme in the first place. For example, instead of exploring systemic issues like workplace stress or societal pressures that drive demand for stress-relief supplements, coverage of Lemme reinforces the idea that the solution is personal responsibility, achievable only through purchasing the right product.
Celebrity culture plays a crucial role in reinforcing this consent. Kourtney Kardashian’s image is carefully crafted to align with the brand’s values: she’s not just a businesswoman but a mother, a health-conscious individual, and someone who seemingly “gets it.” Her audience sees her as something other than a marketer. They see her as a role model. This emotional connection is critical to manufacturing consent, shifting the narrative from “buy this because it’s profitable” to “buy this because it’s good for you.”
The public’s willingness to accept Lemme without question is a testament to how deeply embedded these mechanisms are. The wellness industry relies on this unquestioning consent to thrive. The very premise of Lemme is that your well-being depends on a gummy or a supplement capitalising on insecurities fueled by media narratives. These insecurities are often manufactured and perpetuated by the same media channels promoting solutions like Lemme.
What makes this dynamic so effective is its invisibility. When consumers see a post about Lemme Chill or Lemme Sleep, they must consciously consider how the media and celebrity culture work together to shape their perceptions. Instead, they see a solution to a problem they’ve been told they have a problem framed as personal and solvable through consumption. This framing is key to manufacturing consent: it ensures that systemic critiques are replaced by individual solutions, reinforcing a culture of consumption while deflecting attention from the structures that create the very issues these products claim to solve.
Reference List
Jones, M. O. (2018). Celebrity influence on consumer behavior: The role of social media in marketing
Herman, E.S. and Chomsky, N. (2002). Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon Books.
