Random comments on media culture, including more pithy remarks wrapped in fresh bile.

Image over Substance: An example of postmodern politics in a society entrapped by television images.

Advertising

Product Statements
or Political Propaganda?

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"The revolution is about basketball, and basketball is the truth." -- Nike commercial showing young African-American men playing hoops, 11:45 p.m., Channel 11 in New York, January 2, 1996. Of course, if the revolution is about playing basketball -- and buying shoes -- it will never be about that which is necessary to end domination and oppression: the economic system. And as long as basketball is the truth, the real truth of cultural domination of African-Americans by Nike and other corporations will never rise to the surface -- nor will revolution against the corporate system. That is the mythology in this ad.

Your television is alive. The newest commercial for the Grand Am, an automobile, begins thus: "This is your TV. ..." This ad underscores a trend on the rise for some time: Seeing television content as alive, as a living, speaking being. Television's content is being increasingly endowed with human-like animation and attributes: a voice, a vision, a brain. And now that most human of all attributes: the propensity to shop. Your television is alive, and it is telling you to buy (11:29 p.m., March 2, 1997, Channel 11 in New York City).

One trend in advertising, around no doubt for years, that has become particularly shameless of late is to say exactly the opposite of what a company or product actually does. The implication is, of course, that nowadays people will accept anything you tell them. Or perhaps everybody knows, consumers and advertisers alike, that anything anyone says doesn't matter any more. For example, today I saw an ad that read, "Nothing else is a Pepsi." Yeah, except Coka-Cola, RC Cola, Shasta Cola, and every other sugar-laden cola on the market.

Another example: "New York University: A private university in the public service." Yeah, right. I'm sure it will serve you well after you pay them that $20,000 a year tuition.

"Leave New York a Hard-Hearted Executive. Return as Mother Teresa." Virgin Airlines advertisement, Bus Terminal, Times Square, New York March 25, 1996. Part of its message is, We'll Help You Stop Thinking About the Evil You Do).