CULTURE JAMMING

Question 3

Introduction

Advertising is not only about selling products and services, but act as a vehicle of propaganda for the capitalistic system – it created consumerism (Henderson, 2010). Culture jamming sets out to resist consumer culture within the capitalism system. Macrus, as quoted on the Adbusters’ website (2018), said that: “the détournement of the right sign, in the right place at the right time, could spark a mass reversal of perspective”.
This essay will focus on the role of culture jamming in critiquing public issues through altering manipulating the mass media. Firstly, the concept of culture jamming will be discussed. Then, the role of culture jamming will be discussed followed by two examples. Thereafter, the limitations of culture jamming will be outlined. Lastly, the conclusion will summarise the main findings of this essay.

What is culture jamming?

Culture jamming is a form of resistance to norms and conventions within the dominant culture (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). Culture jammers subvert familiar cultural codes using, among others, mockery, humour and parody (Cammaerts, 2007). Subvertising can also be referred to as ‘adbusting’ (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). Since most culture jammers challenge the dominant culture, culture jamming can be referred to as a counter-cultural or counter-hegemonic activity (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016).

Culture jamming attempts to create counter messages from the company’s own communication methods to send out a message different from the one which the company intended (Klein, 2000). In essence, culture jammers turn company messages against the companies themselves (Klein, 2000).

The role of culture jamming in critiquing societal problems

Cammaerts (2007) who argued that the main objectives of culture jammers are to develop messages that are counter-hegemonic and against the culture of consumerism. However, culture jammers are also focused on raising consciousness (awareness of public issues) and using the media to critique mass culture and the media itself (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). In some instances, culture jamming can just be used for entertainment or humoristic purposes without a deeper motive (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016).

Media technologies allows culture jams of universal concerns to reach global audiences (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). Culture jammers often use humour to address serious matters (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). This can be seen in culture jams from power relations based on gender and race to more drastic political issues such as terrorism (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). Cultural jamming also considers moral issues and challenges created by corporate advertising and aims to protect the public (Happy leaders, 2017). Issues of environmentalism and corporate responsibility that are left out of corporate advertising can also be exposed by culture jammers (Happy leaders, 2017). Culture jammers expose the truth in the perfect illusions created by advertisers (Happy leaders, 2017).

Civilisation cultural jammers present audiences with the opportunity to see a different side of advertisements – product and service advertisements generally only focus on the positive aspects where in reality the product or service may be hazardous to the public’s health or the environment (Happy leaders, 2017). Culture jammers thus add this side of the argument to advertisements in an effort to expose ‘the truth’ (Happy leaders, 2017).

Culture jamming plays an important role in terms of challenging dominant ideologies and power relations that exist in the media (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). As a media practice, culture jamming confronts corporate representation of words and their meanings in society (Carducci, 2006). Culture jamming can lead to clarification of distorted messages by enabling transparency between sender and receiver so that the true message is exposed (Carducci, 2006).

Culture jammers confront mainly three aspects of hegemony including consumerism’s ideological nature, the establishment of the public sphere for private aims; and media commercialisation (Henderson, 2010).

Consumerism is vital to the capitalistic system as it ensures capital flow – it is the ideology that legitimises and sets forth the capitalistic system (Henderson, 2010). Culture jammers use the attraction to brands to alter the messages sent by these corporations in order to get the attention of the audience (Henderson, 2010). The role of advertisements in the promotion of consumerism is part of the reason why culture jammers use advertisements as platforms of resistance (Henderson, 2010). Culture jammers promote resistance by altering the messages that are taken for granted (Henderson, 2010). This allows activists and audiences to become active participants in the production of meanings and messages (Henderson, 2010). Culture jamming has an important function in making members of the public conscious about brands and the roles they fulfil in society (Spark, undated).

Culture jammers attempt to challenge the interference of private intentions in the public sphere (Henderson, 2010). The public sphere, according to Rutherford (2000) is a place where people gather to discuss public affairs and form public opinions (Soules, 2007). Colonisation in the public sphere is a result of interference by wealthy people or companies, morality and other power groups (Soules, 2007).

Culture jammers feel that the media is failing to promote true democracy (Henderson, 2010). Scholars agree that democracies rely heavily on democratization of the media as the media is the primary vehicle through which people can get information and communicate in the public sphere (Henderson, 2010). However, a deficit exists in the democratization of the media as not all people have equal opportunities for participation (Henderson, 2010). This issue is being addressed by culture jammers (Henderson, 2010).

Commercialised media exists within an environment that is sensitised to avoid political or other societal issues that may hinder consumerism (Henderson, 2010). Most of the public’s issues and voices are pushed away by commercial interests and messages (Henderson, 2010). Culture jamming addresses these issues in consumer culture and aims to create awareness among audiences about public issues (Henderson, 2010). Culture jams also aim to expose and critique the politics and assumptions of commercialisation so that people become conscious of the “branded” world in which they live (Center for communication & Civic Engagement, undated).

Through subvertisements, viewers are made aware of different perspectives (Henderson, 2010). These subverts generally contain messages contrary to the company’s intended messages but resemble the original advertisement placed by the company (Henderson, 2010). This type of culture jamming serves to expose half-truths and lies present in advertising and promote consciousness among the viewers of these advertisements (Henderson, 2010). This awareness breaks the normative, routine responses of consumers which commercialisation depends on (Henderson, 2010).

Culture jammers can also engage in détournement, which refers to turning around an image or concept in such a way that the meaning becomes altered (Sandlin & Milam, 2008). This leads to hesitation between an experience and the routine response to it (Sandlin & Milam, 2008). Détournements can function as a transitional space which interrupts habitual responses and allow people to respond to themselves, others and experiences in new ways (Sandlin & Milam, 2008). Individuals then have room to reconsider their role in society (Sandlin & Milam, 2008). Culture jamming, through transitional spaces created by détournements, facilitates human agency and encourage democratic participation within the public sphere (Sandlin & Milam, 2008).

Consumption culture leads to false ideas of classlessness and culture jammers intend establish class consciousness (Carducci, 2006). Since culture jamming promotes active resistance to consumerism, it can be regarded as a form of consumer boycott such as Adbuster’s annual ‘Buy Nothing Day’ that encourages people to refrain from buying anything on Black Friday, a day expected to be the busiest shopping day of the year (Carducci, 2006). Culture jamming promotes transparency in the media which may lead to social movements and involvement in politics (Carducci, 2006). In this sense, culture jamming can be considered a type of social marketing that can lead to changing thoughts and behaviour (Carducci, 2006).

Examples of culture jamming

Picture source: https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PWFPueUmDkQ/WABDwOoNZ5I/AAAAAAAACgU/4lRMDa2vW5ksujewjF_TBdhvGpegbEVDQCLcB/s1600/CoverGirlCultureJam%2B%25281%2529.jpg

The image above is an online culture jam against the CoverGirl brand. The brand featured several adverts with the punchline “easy, breezy, beautiful”. The subvertisement version has strong brand recognition, displaying the CoverGirl name and one of the company’s foundation products. Contrary to official CoverGirl adverts, the culture jammers replaced the iconic beautiful woman in cosmetic adverts with a white rabbit painted with make-up. Under the words “easy, breezy, beautiful”, culture jammers added the words “animal tested, human approved”.

This culture jams sends out a strong message against the issue of animal cruelty. According to Laughlin (2018), CoverGirl does still test on animals. The company sells make up products to China where animal testing of cosmetics is still law (Laughlin, 2018). For this reason, CoverGirl cannot be considered a cruelty-free brand (Laughlin, 2018). The subvertisement aims to create awareness among audience members that CoverGirl is not a cruelty-free brand and still tests on animals. The words “animal tested, human approved” is intended to evoke emotional responses from audience members. The combination of the picture and the shocking words, attempts to manipulate audiences into feeling disgusted with the brand for making animals suffer and, as a result, discontinue purchasing CoverGirl cosmetics.

Picture source: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BbItE28CIAEAhQO.jpg

The second picture shows a culture jammed billboard clearly resembling the Coca-Cola brand which suggests that Coca-Cola promotes youth obesity. During the festive season, Coca-Cola generally launches several advertising campaigns promoting their beverages. Culture jammers created a subvertisement using the same Santa Clause feature of the general Coca-Cola festive season advertisements. In this subvertisement, the Coca-Cola logo and corporate colours are clearly visible. The culture jammers placed the advertisement on a billboard similar to the ones Coca-Cola use to get messages across to their consumers. The culture jam shows Santa Clause holding a Coca-Cola beverage with a letter from him stating that he “believes in youth obesity”.

The Center for Science in Public Interest sued Coca-Cola for keeping quiet about potential health risks of their beverages and said that science proved that sugary drinks such as Coca-Cola is linked to obesity (Purdy, 2017).

The subvertisement aims to warn people of the health risks associated with Coca-Cola and the fact that Coca-Cola is not transparent about these health issues. The words “I believe in youth obesity” is not simply a letter from Santa Clause to the public but reflects the idea that Coca-Cola does not care about the potential risk for obesity linked to sugary beverages such as Coca-Cola. This manipulates and shocks the audience in order to create awareness of the health risks associated with sugary beverages so that hopefully they would refrain from purchasing these drinks.

In both examples, it is clear that culture jammers aim to expose the truth behind the illusions created in corporate advertising. CoverGirl advertises itself as having beautiful products, but they never tell their customers about the ugly side of beautiful: animal testing. Coca-Cola, on the other hand, advertises its beverages as something that can make people “happy” but remain quiet about the health risks associated with sugary drinks.

Limitations of culture jamming

Even though adbusting attempts to critique, it is still a type of advertising that may reinforce the company brand it is aimed at (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). The problem comes in where the more negative publicity a culture jam creates, the more likely people are to remember the brand when browsing through the shops (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). This memory is the ultimate goal of advertising and this type of brand recognition may be promoted by adbusting (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016).

After a culture jam, some audience members may act with aggression towards the culture jammers rather than towards consumerism as intended (Sandlin & Milam, 2008). Some might experience the culture jamming practices to be offensive or judgemental (Sandlin & Milam, 2008).

The controversy around a brand as a result of media activism may be attracted to those people and youth who regard these controversies as desirable (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). Using controversy or humour in culture jamming may draw more attention to the advertisement than the issue (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). Culture jamming may also lead to major legal consequences as companies can sue culture jammers for brand damage, infringement, violating copyrights or defamation (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016).

The internet is a popular culture jamming medium (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). It is said to be democratic but the dominant language online is English and people are required to be literate on the internet (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). For these reasons, the internet still excludes some groups in society (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016).

Culture jammers face the risk of being viewed as hypocrites for jamming advertisements and then selling these jammed versions of the advertisements on products such as clothing and stickers (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). Culture jamming has even been used as a marketing strategy in some instances once companies realised that their audiences desired such jams (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). This can be successful as, just like culture jamming, the advertisements would be regarded as truthful and transparent (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). Companies are increasingly finding ways to predict creative ways of resistance and then turn them into commodities that can be sold (Sandlin & Milam, 2008).

Some of these culture jamming movements of political activism has been exploited in the market environment (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). This is evident in the fashion industry, American Apparel, for example, exploited the movement against corporate and globalisation and advertise their brand to be both “sweatshop free” and “environmentally friendly” (Sandlin & Milam, 2008). In this sense, advertising and culture jamming are forms of political communication (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). However, social and political problems are being turned into commodities (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016).

Conclusion

Even though culture jamming has its limitations, it plays a significant role in protecting society against ideology and power in the media (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). The Adbusters website showed a quote from Greil Macrus which states: “the détournement of the right sign, in the right place at the right time, could spark a mass reversal of perspective” (Adbusters, 2018). The researcher found this quote to be appropriate in concluding what the role of culture jamming is as, from the information above, it can be concluded that culture jamming aims to change the perspectives of society.

In this essay, the concept of culture jamming was defined. Thereafter, the role of culture jamming was discussed and the researcher identified two culture jams. Then, the limitations of culture jamming were outlined. Finally, it was concluded that despite the limitations of culture jamming, it plays an important critiquing role in society by means of changing the perspectives of society on public issues.

2179 words (excluding in-text referencing)