The restructuring of the British public sector since 1979 has brought marketization to the public services, including higher education. With this comes the concomitant managerial function of marketing. Academics and othersperhaps have a tendency to shrug such activity off as ‘administration’. However, it can be argued that the marketing discourse itself contains a number of subdiscourses. One belongs to the marketing practitioner,who may regard the practice as politically neutral or ‘common-sensical’.Others, from a different political position may see marketing as acontrolling device to support the market system, and with it an acceptance of a societal and institutional status quo. However, it is also possible tosee marketing as a subversive means to overturn tradition and promote new values, perspectives and different types of higher education institutions.