September 2006 • Issue 393


Advertising / SUBVERTISING

Subverts

Lancing commercial eyesores

As a private person, I have a passion for landscape, and I have never seen one improved by a billboard... When I retire from Madison Avenue, I am going to start a secret society of masked vigilantes who will travel around the world on silent motor bicycles, chopping down posters at the dark of the moon. How many juries will convict us when we are caught in these acts of beneficent citizenship?

Advertising bigwig David Ogilvy, 1963.

The Billboard Utilizing Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions (BUGA UP) were pioneers of ‘street surgery’ and helped Australia become the first industrialized country to ban outdoor tobacco ads.

The Billboard Utilizing Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions (BUGA UP) were pioneers of ‘street surgery’ and helped Australia become the first industrialized country to ban outdoor tobacco ads. tc.bmjjournals.com

home.no/savagecentral


commons.wikimedia.org


earthfirst.org.uk


www.areyougeneric.org


How to make your own:
http://www.areyougeneric.org/index.php
http://www.eco-action.org/dt/smashing.html

View some classics at:
http://adbusters.org/spoofads/index.php

Many NGOs use advertising which counters commercial messages. View Greenpeace’s anti-SUV video at:
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/gasguzzler/




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other articles
FROM THIS ISSUE

Shehab Uddin
The dignity of a poet resident at a senior citizen shelter in Kathmandu, Nepal, captured by Shehab Uddin.

Captive – how the ad industry pins us down
Dinyar Godrej sniffs at the bait being dangled by the ad biz.

Jesus is a brand of jeans
Jean Kilbourne on how advertising affects the way we think and feel.

Dead as a Doha

The Real Aim
The real aim of the bombs falling on Lebanon is regime change, argues Uri Avnery, a former member of Israel’s parliament.

recently
IN THIS COLUMN

The Aid Link
Are we really helping the Third World?

This toxic life
They’re in our homes and our workplace, in the air we breathe and in the food we eat. Wayne Ellwood argues that toxic chemicals are changing the nature of nature.

Plastic is forever
The facts about plastic

Message in a bottle
It’s a fashion statement and an environmental nightmare. Zoe Cormier examines one of the most successful marketing ploys ever – bottled water.

Abandon the toxic treadmill!
Things you can do to avoid toxic plastics. PLUS the Action / Campaign directory.






Voices from the margins:

Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.

House of Hunger Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
Raised Voices video:
Atossa Soltani from Brazil on the Climate Change
Desmond Desai from South Africa on Corporate Power
Iranian Women Speak Out
Iranian women speak out
3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
Raised Voices audio:
Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
Vinayan from India on agriculture