Subvertisements

So lately I’ve been thinking a bit about this idea of subvertisements. Subverts are basically like ads but with supposedly jarring messages that force you to rethink consumerism or at least the specific think you are consuming. So imagine looking at a soft drink can and seeing the “Capitalism” or “Consumerism” instead of cola. It’s kind of amusing to me, partially because it achieves the “Wait, this is weird, right?” effect I kinda was hoping for in (9 – Social Isolation) but also because it hijacks the mechanism that reinforces so much of our spending habits. Some claim it is useless, but I like it for nothing other than the Tyler Durden factor. I think the idea is cool, but hasn’t been taken to its logical extreme to the level that corporate advertisement campaigns have. There is no subversive anti-branding, nothing to combat the extreme levels of ad creep that we see in our culture. I mean, I guess there is propaganda and of course I do like a dank meme as much as the next guy, but still I feel there is some hidden potential in subvertising…