Rob Walker's new book "Buying In" is definitely on my short list of what to read next. The New York Times just ran an article on it, and in between sentences bemoaning capitalism there was some pretty great story.
Pabst Blue Ribbon, the beer of hipsters, is apparently hip thanks to some brilliant marketing. When PBR started failing, there was one market that continued to grow: the Pacific Northwest. Hipsters in Portland and Seattle liked the idea of PBR as the working-class beer, the one that doesn't care about reputation. Marketing directors took that idea and ran with it; they began sponsoring small art shows, book readings, etc. without any signage. Providing tons of free beer and footing the bill paid off; now the company is surging as an independent, small label that doesn't care about rep. This reputation is incidentally totally inaccurate, they're actually a division of Miller and obsessed with marketing, but whatever. It sells. The most ridiculous part is that some kid got a PBR logo tattooed on his back. Something tells me that's going to be a source of regret someday.