There is an increasing interest in effective methods for building consumer involvement on a mass
scale. This paper offers an interdisciplinary theoretical framework for consumer involvement analysis and
forwards an anthropological approach to this issue. It uses categories of play and communitas to examine
cultural dynamics underlying consumer involvement. It summarizes and extends theoretical understanding
of the topic and provides numerous examples from contemporary marketplace such as Heineken Open’er
Festival and Volkswagen ‘Fun Theory’ initiative. Several research propositions are formulated for future
empirical endeavors and implications for practice are defined
