Hippy-crit

Just to show how much of a hypocrite I am, and highlight the confusion I face over this whole PR career idea, I've gone and pulled off a PR "stunt"myself, similar to that I bemoaned in my last post. As what I was advertisng was a non-corporate charity project which I actually beleive in, and the props were positioned on non-descript roundabouts surrounded by ugly cars, I had no problem doing it. Not everybody was happy though.

Mr Smith was critical of the box, he said: “Placing this advertising contraption on the roundabout is like waving a red rag to a bull.

“Motorists regularly mount the roundabout, destroying the road signs and even disappearing deep into the foliage.

The advertising was also criticised for bad taste by one woman who spotted it while on her way to a funeral.

The woman, who did not want to be identified, noticed a coffin-shaped box on the Six Crossroads roundabout while travelling with family members. She was shocked it had been placed on one of the busiest routes to Woking Crematorium.

From the News & Mail ---> Gallery promo Causes a Stir

Why I orda....

Much as I like the Simpsons, I find this kind of publicity disgusting. It's almost as bad as the Playstation 2 graffitti stencils. Not to be a snob, but I really do hate the way these stunts parasitically feed off genuine culture while defacing it in the process. Is nowhere safe from advertising!?

You know what makes it worse as well? I've gone and written about it and spread the filth further. Or at least i would have done if anyone read this blog. i hope someone finds this while doing post-mortem on their market strategy. Should give them a giggle.

Iconoclasm (the destruction of an image) is one thing in the name of art, politics or even just genuinely having a laugh, but as pre-determined strategically targeted publicity, it makes me sick. (Someone's getting paid a lot of money for the kind of idea that any 12 year old boy could have here) Andy Warhol has a lot to answer for, and yet, while he sold a lot of paintings, I love the way he did it. It's a fine line, and interesting one to look at.

If only I was still studying visual culture, I feel an essay coming on....