Business: Anti-Advertising
Boycott Adverts   (+8, -6)  [vote for, against]
Stop buying advertised products (would't it be ironic).

Instead of buying products you see on television don't buy the products you see on television. Eventually the companies that rely on advertising would go under and smaller companies would flurish putting more capital into the hands of more people wich would support a stronger economy. Then television could be paid for through TVSP's (television service providers) instead of having AOL you could have FOX or BBC or NBC or CBC or EXN or whatever... Now all we need is some idiot to head the campain.
-- RobEC, Aug 19 2000

Adbusters http://www.adbusters.org/
Culture jamming [badger, Aug 19 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004]

RobEC, great idea but in practice advertising is not that simple. A lot of advertising aims to penetrate your subconcious. As a result of this, when you buy something you may be doing so because of the advert without actually realising it. What you need are anti-advert glasses!
-- ccaamgw, Aug 19 2000


Linking content and distribution is a terrible idea, and wholly unnecessary at that -- there are already pay channels with no ads. I'll stick with the current system, thanks.
-- egnor, Aug 20 2000


Infinite supply of suckers makes this one a non-starter - besides, sometimes the ads are more interesting than the programmes in-between (really!)...
-- MonTemplar, Aug 24 2000


I agree with Mr Templar, in fact I would like to see a DVD come on the market with every tv advert around the world ever. Well maybe that would be a library. May be the old TV ads for cigarettes could get the ball rolling. Total horror show those old smoking ads.
-- leggless, Aug 25 2000


I like the idea of turning the ads against themselves. The trick would be to transform the ad context from positive to negative so that any content would be perceived (also subconsciously) as a boycott. Pro: If advertising works, why shouldn't anti-advertising - just by embracing it with a negative presentiment and prejudice. Pro: Like a positive feeling towards someone transforms into a negative of the same strength (and not a neutral) if disbanded. Pro: I feel I am doing a boycott already. Pro: Suckers might not be a problem since they are prejudice-drive. Supply anti-ad prejudices in some campain. "YOU pay for their blatant ads!", "Their products are usually the worst" etc.
-- badger, Oct 02 2000


Advertisements go much deeper than the few TV commercials we have to endure. The truly great marketing schemes have us wearing their adverts and promoting their brands at the exact same moment we are talking about an anti-advert revolution. The marketers have sold us our revolution and they've convinced us that that revolution can be achieved through purchasing power. You too are unique and against the tide if you accessorize appropriately. The advertisers have already co-opted the idea of anti-advertising and they are selling us on it daily. The terms "alternative" and "independent" are now owned by Madison Ave. They know we hate adverts so they beat us to the punch.
-- raisin, Oct 02 2000


UNfortunately? Hell no!

StarChaser Tyger, proud to be an active frontline fighter in the war on spam.
-- StarChaser, Oct 07 2000



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