Week 9 Presentation
Adbusters
http://www.adbusters.org
'Adbusters' is an online organisation that seeks to 'advance the new social activist movement of the information age'. Consisting of artists, activists, writers, pranksters, students, educators, entrepreneurs, and many more, it is a global network whose aim is to 'toggle existing power structures and forge a major shift in the way we will live in the 21st century'.
Adbusters is not just an online organisation, however. There is also a not-for-profit Abusters magazine which is based in Vancouver, Canada. The magazine is concerned with the 'erosion of physical and cultural environments by commercial forces' and examines the relationship between human beings and their physical and mental environment. Adbusters magazine basically aims to achieve a balance between economy and ecology, where the reader becomes more than just a spectator, but an actual participant.
In the tutorial we discussed just how effective this kind of culture jamming is in terms of achieving this transformation of spectator to participant. Looking at some of the posters created by Adbusters participants showed that such organisations are definitely capable of creating a reaction to certain contemporary issues currently facing this world, like capitalism, consumerism, poverty, and so on, but then we also discussed that there is a definite distinction between achieving a change in perceptions, to achieving a change in behaviour. How many of us would actually be influenced to take our emotions to the next level? To put our thoughts and words into action and make a difference? I feel that this is definitely a challenge many organisations, such as Adbusters, face everyday and struggle to overcome.
We also touched on the effectiveness of their ad campaigns and what various elements and techniques were used to capture and reel in their audience. Comments were made on how keeping the campaigns simple by altering slightly a well-recognised image or changing a word or two from a well-known slogan was incredibly effective in creating meaning for an audience. I know I certainly still have the images of some of their ads stuck in my head even two weeks after first seeing them!
Hey Charlzy,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. You ask the question; how many of us would actually be influenced to take our emotions to the next level, to put our mental and emotional reactions into physical reactions? Well, I think that it largely depends on how strong those emotional and mental reactions are. I assume that any activist group only does so because a strong emotional conviction drives them to physical action. I know that there are some things in this course that, given the opportunity, I would certainly turn my emotional reactions into physical ones. Purely because I FEEL and thereby believe, so strongly about a certain issue.
As for being a challenge to organisations, im inclined to think that with enough voice and presentation, that people will respond (emotionally) and if people are emotionally, more so than perceptually, changed; I think this has a great chance of promoting people into action. Why? Well because I believe that emotions are more likely to motivate people into action that thoughts (perception).