Wooster Collective posted these images from CNN’s ad campaign in Turkey, “Stories with the full background.” Aesthetically this is by far one of my favorite marketing stunts (see my book cover to understand why). The thing is, why don’t they run ads like this in the US? I think the answer is self-evident. The US press is generally chckenshit to be too honest at home, but will present a different face abroad in order to appease the generally oppositional view of the US overseas. This kind of two-faced approach is a disservice to the American public and also points to the ethically crippled state of corporate media.

Unlogo Intro from Jeff Crouse on Vimeo.

The marketer’s big secret is that you can put an image in a person’s head but you can’t take it out. But with unlogo, a brilliant video application being developed by Jeff Crouse, you can at least blot out intrusive product placement in your visual media. Maybe not quite as effective as the memory erasure deployed in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, it’s a valiant defense against the corporate invasion of mindspace.

You can see a prototype in action here.

I want this book for xmas!

It took me a minute to figure out what is happening in this video, but if you look closely, you will see this is indeed the work of Banksy. Hint: what is the dolphin jumping over?

Here’s more from Banksy’s recent work in the Gulf of Mexico:

Image source

A good culture jam always brings me a smile! In case you can’t read the label on the right, it says L’oreal Insect Repellent.

Via Wooster.

Ever had an idea that someone else executes better than you imagined it? Well, here is one of those situations. The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal is one of my favorite short films. For years I have photographed the ephemeral state of street art as if it were an unconscious process of spontaneous creation. This film plays with this idea and does much more with it. Please watch and enjoy!

From Wooster Collective

There is something ironic yet unconscious about the Tactical Stencil Lab’s attack on Marine recruiters in Brooklyn: in their noble counter-recruiting effort to challenge the Marine’s tactics, they have revealed how deft and sophisticated the military really is. In other words, the activists lost the info battle before it even started.

It’s time for old school activist tactics to change.

Having done workshops in neighborhood high schools featured in the video and also having worked in “minority” schools heavily targeted by the US military, I have observed that the military is much better at engaging the community and speaking a language it understands than many activists who come in from the outside who have no experience engaging locals. The difference is market research. The whole aesthetic of Tactical Stencil Lab comes from the avant-garde and speaks a nihilistic language that will draw no one into its movement except those who already understand their aesthetic (note the video’s dreary atonal soundtrack). In this video there is a short clip from a Marine recruitment video that speaks better the symbolism of escape and transformation that makes military recruitment successful. This doesn’t mean that activists should pander to persuasive ad techniques of the Marines, but notice the quasi-religous beauty of the ad featuring the African-American male jumping into the pool– a scene practically lifted from Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl‘s Olympia.

Whereas the Marines are doing market research and engaging directly with the community they are recruiting from, I’m doubtful Tactical Stencil Lap is doing such grassroots work. Consider the dressed-up Hummer at 0:50. This demonstrate the skillful marketing techniques of the Marines that draws upon an Afro-Carbean and hip hop aesthetic that is more common in the area.

Tactical Stencil Lap would be perceived as invaders, whereas the marines are far more compelling and intriguing because they speak directly to those they want to recruit. The whole videos unconvincingly utilizes a foreign dialect lacking a local sensibility. Who is this message supposed to appeal to? If I showed this video to the students of this community it would not engage or interest them. I know because I have tried. Putting up graffiti “kill or die” on the shutter is no better than advertising, but done with lesser skill or research. Why not do it in vernacular style? If you want to uncool the Marines, at least do it in a way that a kid with no future prospects will understand.

It’s better to find ways to engage youth and to propose alternative solutions that are more attractive and viable. There are already is enough “kill” and “die” slogans filling the rhetorical atmosphere. The key that makes marketing work is that it’s an invitation. What kind of alternative activity could Tactical Stencil Lab invite local kids to do? Create art!

This is one of the greatest culture jams of all time, made by artist Phil Patiris. I’m glad to finally see it on the net. This YouTube version is a little incomplete. I recommend seeing the complete version at the Internet Archive.

Papergirl #3 from Papergirl on Vimeo.

Via Wooster