Exploring Subversive Content on Brand Public in the Context of H&M

This study aims to explore the subversive content on brand public through the lens of brand hate literature. This study has two research objectives. First to identify typologies of brand haters who generate subversive content. Second, to explore the publicity value of subversive content they generate for different beneficiaries. The study is in the context of fast fashion brand H&M. This study utilizes netnography through Twitter and YouTube and employs thematic analysis to uncover three distinct categories of brand haters within the brand public. These categories are dissatisfied haters, ethical haters, and celebrity haters. It was discovered that subversive content generated by dissatisfied haters was beneficial to H&M's competitors, while content created by celebrity haters proved to be beneficial for both the hated brand and their audience. The subversive content generated by ethical haters was found to be beneficial for themselves, as well as for ethical and sustainable clothing entrepreneurs. This study contributes to brand public literature by giving an insight into the publicity value of subversive content generated by different types of haters.