By Mike Fegelman
Alert! Beware! It’s everywhere! Like an epidemic or a plague, this toxin has been introduced into the bloodstream of our society, but not many seem to have noticed.
There’s a new type of pollution on the block and it can’t be fixed by emission controls or by reducing, re-using, and/or recycling.
Advertising pollution is here and it’s clogging every wall and all means of public transportation. It’s even infiltrating our washrooms: as men are now forced to confront urinal ads while they’re doing their business.
Imagine standing, feet shoulder-width apart, with your torso relaxed, eyes narrowly focused, and all you can see is an ad promoting a Canadian military recruitment program. Is this what they really mean when they ask you to salute your superiors?
This is the reason most people know the slogan to Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, while they don’t even know who their own member of Parliament is.
There seems to be a growing movement in the advertising community to expose the public to product placements at every opportunity.
These keen advertising executives are turning our daily environments into one big ad campaign, for the sole purpose of dominating the market for their own profits.
They present themselves as purveyors of good will, but the truth is that these executives are shrouded in a veil of deception, with regard to their claims that they are providing an essential service to the public.
The truth is that they are saturating the market and are operating under the misguided belief that what they are doing is in the public’s best interest.
Think about it, you’re being brainwashed either directly or indirectly through subliminal means and you’re helpless because you feel there’s nothing you can do.
Are you concerned? You have every reason to be.
Think about the impressionable minds of the youth today: they are growing up in a society where brand recognition and marketing campaigns dominate their lives.
A new educational tool or weapon may soon be in the hands of the marketing gurus of the world, making children even easier targets for materialist interests.
Whitney Houston said it best; “I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way.” This being said, what kinds of values will our future teachers, leaders, and politicians possess? Will they be materialistic, exploitative, and egoistic? These are real possible consequences that could come about if our children are not protected.
Of course, there is a purpose to advertising. For argument’s sake, lets concede the fact that it informs us and therefore helps us make cost-conscious and otherwise important decisions that affect our lives.
But should we attempt to limit this intrusive assault on our senses to secure some decency in society?
Ad agencies defend their actions by stating that they have every right to conduct their business the way they do, as they have the freedom to express their views and to have these views disseminated to the public.
But don’t we have a choice? Did we authorize consent?
Ira Wagman, a professor of mass communications at Carleton University, is skeptical about the true intentions of advertisers.
“It seems that there’s an increasing attempt to take your daily lives and expose you to their products, but the problem is that it’s against your consent and in some cases it’s obscene and lewd,” says Wagman.
Consent is a seemingly trivial word, one taken for granted by many. But it is the one power we may have over advertisers.We can defy their methods and means of persuasion by stating that we won’t allow their advances to continue.
And herein rests the possible solution to the enigma at hand.
We must draw the line, stand tall, and scream out loud; “no, not without my permission!”
So should the government step in and declare certain areas off limits to advertisers? Even though this may sound a bit paternalistic, should the government ensure that society is protected, through the creation of legislation to overlook and mandate advertising practices in our society?
Those who oppose advertising pollution are called “culture jammers.”
They don’t just verbally express their opposition to advertising. They take it one step further by defacing signs and vandalizing advertising campaigns.
Groups such as the Billboard Liberation Front and Abrupt say their actions are justified. But advertisers call them anarchists and profess that what they’re doing is mere opportunism at its worst.
Advertisers say these groups are committing crimes to oppose the supposed moral injustices that occur as a result of advertising.
The culture of consumption continues, and the corporate flag continues to fly high and unimpeded by any real opposition.
Unless the corporate appetite for advertising is curbed, we could see companies paying individuals to put advertisements on their pet’s jacket, or for that matter paying individuals to tattoo corporate logos on their own bodies.
Who knows, one day Stinky the golden retriever may endorse his own cologne line called “eau du chien.”
Or worse, what if Steve’s inner thigh became an advertisement for an easy-to-use hair removal product?
Scared?
You should be.