In Vino, Celebritas - Part One

What connects a row on Swedish television, the UK Royal family, and the UK's top selling premium wine brand? And why oh why oh why is do people buy this stuff? Turns out - for very good reasons.

Whenever I want to answer a knotty marketing question I go and read a chapter or two of “Mythologies” by Roland Barthes. There are two benefits of consulting a French literary theorist and semiotician. One is that you come at the problem with a different perspective to everyone else because, well, who the hell answers business problems with reference to…