Thursday, October 2, 2008
Response to Harold
I think that the tactics used by Adbusters are effective in that they are spreading the message that ad campaigns are shallow and pointless, with their only agenda being to promote consumption of products. I agree that with increased popularity and sales, Adbusters has sold out to the corporate agenda and the processes of greed that plague humanity. Although they have 'sold out', it depends on what they do with the profits made by selling the shoes and stock. If Adbusters uses the increase in resources to continue their grassroots campaign, then they are being effective in spreading the message of anti- ad campaigning and could use the resources to further their message of anti-corporate greed. (Sorry for using a binary here) On the other hand, if Adbusters uses their increased revenue to further bad social realities such as the beauty industrial complex, they could be defined as part of the problem that advertising creates.
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4 comments:
I guess Adbusters are in a bit of a Catch 22 - they'll be criticised for achieving too much fame, success and power, yet these factors are required (to a degree) in order to alllow them to spread their message. You need the audience in order to give your words an effect, otherwise you're just babbling to empty cyberspace!
You're never going to keep everyone happy...
It's a bit of a quandry, trying to stay true to your roots, but I think the work they do is valuable. There aren't enough voices of dissent in the ocean of dodgy advertising...
Yep - if they gain too much fame, people will say theyve sold out. But if they want to be succesful in spreading their message, they need some sort of publicity too...I personally think adbusters are quite funny and while I don't agree with some of their stances, I think they provide a neat counterpoint to look at when analyzing ads and their effect on society...
Humour's probably one of the best ways to approach areas like this - you can win over a lot of people or at least encourage them to pay attention to your message.
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