We share the following questions which are a starting point for our ideas. Many of these questions we don’t have answers for. We would like to see work from artists that can inspire further critical thought by asking more questions and beginning to provide some well-developed answers.
- Visual imagery is a language. What does the language of advertising communicate?
- How has advertising impacted hip-hop in general, and graffiti in particular?
- How have community-based art forms like murals, stencils and screen printing been affected by advertising?
- How have alcohol and tobacco companies targeted advertising to different racial groups? What are the other ways that advertising affects these communities?
- How does advertising affect gender roles? What are its impacts on women, body image and self-esteem? What are the different ways in which women of different races are affected? How are LGBTs affected by advertising?
- What are the affects on men? Men of different races?
- How are the identities of teenagers shaped by advertising and commercialization of public schools?
- How does advertising affect working people, labor unions and perceptions of class?
- How does advertising affect you personally? How does advertising impact your ideas of pleasure and desire?
- How is the news media affected by advertising?
- How is advertising tied to globalization or gentrification?
- What would a city without advertising look like? How would it affect the economy?
- What are the positive aspects of advertising?
- How could advertising be reformed? Can advertising be reformed?
6 Comments
As a physician I am always concerned and dismayed by the infiltration of advertising into the doctor-patient relationship. Patients get hammered with direct to consumer prescription drug ads and doctors are constantly compromising themselves with their interactions with drug companies with free meals, pens, books, etc. I think that one of the real problems is that young doctors and medical students simply don’t think about this infiltration during their hectic days which can go up to 36-40hrs straight in the hospital. It seems like it would be great to have some sort of culture jamming that could be carried out by activist medical students and residents in the hospitals and clinics that would force people to recognize their acceptance of something that is really quite harmful to the fiduciary relationship between health care providers and their patients. I really like the work of nofreelunch.org and a lot of the work you guys are doing particularly the really elegant solutions like the you don’t need it and the press on cold sores. keep up the amazing work and if you ever want to hit back at big phrma send me an email.
For the Art Director and Copywriter who concept and create the advertisement; Is it art that has sold its soul? Is there any meaning besides “buy me” in advertising?
As a football fan, i see the direct impact “tough trucks” and beer commercials have on men of all ages.There’s nothing like seeing a group of men in a lifted Ford F250 pull slowly into the parking lot af a sports bar, decked out in mass produced team jerseys, with caps sporting Nike or beer logos. I swear someday i will show up in a Prius, with a peace t-shirt, and a button with Michael Moore’s face on it. That’ll learn um!
avoid all heavily advertised products such as aarp,free credit report,geico,nutri system,video professor,ditech, etc. advertisement adds nothing to the product except the cost.
It is easy to see why networks are caught in the AD trap.If you have more ads you can have less content in your programs. Polls are paid big money to tell networks how many viewers they have & they have no accurate way of proving it. Statistics is the biggest circumstancial inaccuracies layed out to the public!
“Is it art that has sold its soul? Is there any meaning besides “buy me†in advertising?”
Unfortunately, I don’t think so… :(