art not ads

Well, I suppose it had to happen. Stay Free comment on an article in the LA Times about a TV show called “Firebrand” which is nothing but adverts. It features “commercial jockeys” who actually introduce the upcoming ads.

Now if you don’t mind, I think I’ve just about had it…. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??? It’s as if Franz Kafka, David Cronenburg and Terry Gilliam dreamed up some hideous TV monster, and it ATE TV-LAND then crapped out RECURSIVE TV NIGHTMARES. This is in Revelations, right?

Honestly though. Are they on crack or what?

Hmm?

One of the most frequent comments people make when they read this website or discuss the topic of advertising, is that advertising isn’t a new invention, it’s been around for a long time. Consequently, it seems that advertising is a perfectly normal feature of our landscapes, and has been for generations. Which begs the question, why are Art Not Ads so upset about it?
This perspective is naive, and it’s a shame to see people who go about their world so unquestioningly. This picture, from Paleo-Future Blog shows the Statue of Liberty decked in advertising devices (discovered at Murketing). It dates from 1885, demonstrating that in fact advertising has had detractors for a long, long time - at least 120 years, and probably back as far as its origins. Advertising’s longevity doesn’t relate to popularity or acceptance. Its persistence doesn’t justify its continuation.

It’s just as true to say that advertising has been intrusive and irritating for many generations.

A story at Murketing points to an article in the New York Times, telling the inspiring tale of illustrator Linzie Hunter. She gets a lot of spam emails, like the rest of us. One day Linzie decided to use the text from these emails to create samples of her hand-lettering illustration work. She created a Flickr photoset of these illustrations, and suddenly found “fame” through mentions at BoingBoing and similar websites.