The rise of fast fashion is unfortunate for many reasons: the proliferation of disposable clothing; the unethical sweatshop labour required to keep up with it; the additional motivations for teenagers to spend their weekends loitering in a mall trend-hunting; haul videos. But the issue in the spotlight this week has
Continue readingTag: advertising
Dead Wild Roses: Objectification of Women – Tour de Fail
Thanks for pointing that out Sociological Images. “[…][A]nother over-the-top example of the objectification of female athletes. The commercial is for RoadID, a company that sells “identification gear.” Autumn saw it while watching the Tour de France; she found this shortened version online, which she says actually features less objectification than
Continue readingArt Threat: Blasphemous maggot artist erects new illegal billboards
Provocative Polish artist Peter Fuss is back with a new pair of guerrilla billboards. Each monochrome board is wallpapered with 36 depictions of an US one-dollar bill, with the text “reasons are still the same” pasted in loud, bold type across the rightmost panel. Fuss has pushed political buttons with
Continue readingwmtc: informed citizens vs. enbridge: misleading pipeline ads must go
What’s wrong with this picture? Lori Waters knew what was wrong. Waters, who lives in BC and designs scientific graphics, recognized that 1,000 kilometres of island coastline was missing from the map, giving the appearance of a broad, clear channel – one that might accommodate oil supertankers with a degree
Continue readingArt Threat: Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch forbids commercial use of his music
Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys (photo by Michael Morel). Late hip hop pioneer Adam “MCA” Yauch has explicitly prohibited any posthumous use of his music for corporate advertising. In a copy of his will obtained by Rolling Stone this week, the Beastie Boys rapper states: “Notwithstanding anything to the
Continue readingmark a rayner | scribblings, squibs & sundry monkey joys: Ask General Kang: Do you have a profile on Facebook?
Absolutely! You can’t take over a planet without a few friends. I like the way that Facebook allows me to be connected the minutia of my friends’ lives. This is why I’m so fond of the “status update,” which allows … Continue reading →
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Mitchell Anderson reports on how Norway has assured itself of long-term fiscal security by saving a fair share of its oil resources: Norway produces 40 per cent less petroleum than Canada and has one-seventh our population, but has saved more than $600
Continue readingArt Threat: Brandalism – Taking back public space for public debate
Twenty-four artists, 37 spots, 5 cities, 8 months. While millions of eyes look to London this week, these small numbers come together for a big purpose. Brandalism, a ‘crew’ and project that takes inspiration from Sean Tejaratchi and Bansky, has been re-appropriating ad space (billboards in particular) to creatively interpret big brands.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your weekend. – Yes, the usual caveats about trying to predict future commodity prices apply. But Stephen Maher’s warning about the effect of rising fuel and food prices is still worth keeping in mind: That shift doesn’t mean that North Americans are about to take meaningful
Continue readingwmtc: vaginal discharge. now i’ve said it, too. (thanks, carefree.)
How can it be that an advertisement is considered controversial because it clearly states the intended use of its product? Strangely, it makes perfect sense, in a world where legislators are banned from their workplaces for uttering the word vagina, where breasts are used to sell everything in creation, but
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On definition
Others have weighed in on the NDP’s latest set of ads in English… …and in French: But it’s worth highlighting what most sets the latest ads apart from what we’ve seen from the opposition parties between elections since the Cons took power. Contrary to some of the headlines, the ads
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald to shed more staff as newspapers struggle to survive
Peering through the fence at the newspaper business in 2012. Canadian newspapers may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Edmonton Journal editor in chief Lucinda Chodan. The newspaper industry was officially pronounced a dead man walking on Sunday, July 8, 2012. The declaration was made by no less an authority
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On risky bets
Others have already batted about some theories about the Cons’ first set of attack ads against Tom Mulcair. But it’s worth noting that there are a couple of important differences between the first salvo against Mulcair, and the previous saturation campaigns against Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff. While it’s been
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for a sunny Sunday. – Paul Wells offers some theories as to why the Cons haven’t yet launched attack ads against Thomas Mulcair. But I’d think the more important aberration is the fact that they did do so against Bob Rae before he ever became the Libs’ permanent
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Quoted on affairs Liberal
Postmedia’s Lee Berthiaume filed the obligatory Justin Trudeau and the Liberal leadership story yesterday, and I’m quoted. First, in defence of charisma: “Charisma can be seen as superficial, but it is important,” said Liberal blogger Jeff Jedras. “I’m looking for someone who can go into small groups in small towns
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Liberal Red And NDP Orange
The Liberal Party of Canada is often criticized for being stagnant, for not changing, but one just has to look at its logo, its branding, and more specifically, its colour to see that is not true. Colours are important, people naturally associate feelings and ideas to them. Advertisers know this
Continue readingArt Threat: Aggressive misinformation from millionaires – Koch brothers-funded institute takes down offensive billboards
The Heartland Institute, that whacky rightwing think tank in the US that has corporations abandoning it faster than you can say Titanic, has added another bonehead move to its long list of ridiculous and offensive propaganda tactics. Last week Heartland, which is already facing isolation in a charged US pre-election
Continue readingThose Emergency Blues: Alzheimer’s Is Not Funny — Or Is It?
Via Osocio, a teenage sociopath scams his Alzheimer’s-afflicted grandmother — and manages to raise the age-old question: are some conditions simply not funny? Admittedly, a small giggle from me. But I am an unreconstructed ED nurse, remember? Filed under: Shock and Awe Advertising Tagged: advertising, alzhemer’s, health care advertsising
Continue readingwmtc: do not buy a cuisinart electric percolator. i will not make that mistake again.
I am fuming. Friggin’ fuming. Remember my coffee maker, the Cuisinart electric percolator? I was impressed that Cuisinart, a division of Conair, honoured their three-year warranty. Short version: the replacement percolator that they sent me has broken after only eight months of use. The company has told me that this
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: First impressions and lasting involvement
Others have already commented on the NDP’s first set of ads with Thomas Mulcair as party leader. But I’ll take a few minutes to highlight both the job the ads seem perfectly suited to do – and the more important work only hinted at in Mulcair’s first set of leadership
Continue reading