How to Get Ahead in Advertising...

I was having a conversation with my dad recently about advertising and I joked to him that adverts are so gross and overbearing that I occasionally felt that I was a star of my very own Truman show. My dad laughed then put his serious face on and said ‘you know that’s not true right?’  His reaction tells me two things; firstly, he thinks I’m ridiculous. Secondly, how much worse it is to be a twenty something girl than a 50 year old man. Adverts do crash into my brain, invade my space and constantly tell me I’m not pretty, skinny or intelligent enough. My dad is a huge fan of Banksy, so maybe I’ll share his own personal opinions on advertising and my dad will listen because a celebrated celebrity says advertisers are making a mockery of us – a shame that he doesn’t believe it when I say it, but that’s become the world we live in and accept. Celebrities are tied hand in hand with advertisements; celebrity endorsements being a way for huge companies to yet again tell us mere civilians that we can achieve by buying into a fraction of celebrity culture (Banksy obviously being a refreshing exception to this general rule) .

I LOVE this little rant. We're frequently bullied by adverts on television, pop-ups online and cheery jingles on the radio and it's more often that not for shit you don't need. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm an advocate of charity work, and not the kind that starts at home. However, all the appeals to help Africa get clean water and give a child in India a cow come across as grotesque to me - who are we to present ourselves as saviors for these people?  They don't make me donate, they make me change the channel. Companies follow you around the internet; what you just browsed innocently on Topshop's website will stalk you for weeks while you're browsing your social media sites. Like Banksy says, the advertisers have upped their game with technology and will hound you with images of that pretty little dress until you cave into the relentless adverts and guiltily purchase it one night as Philip Green laughs in his sleep. 

One of the reasons I started my blog was because I was opposed to the other blogs I was reading. I follow a few fashion blogs; one was heavily the inspiration for me starting my own. I was in awe of the discipline this girl had, how frequently she posted and how beautiful she looked in all her photos.  She had made herself a celebrity of the online world; her blog often features sponsorship and promotes various other blogs. And then I realised how inferior I felt. There was never a bad day, or a low day or a day where she didn’t love what she was wearing. I talked about starting a blog years before I finally got the motivation/time to do it, and one of the reasons I struggled to start was because I didn’t know how to market myself. I was afraid people wouldn’t like what I said or agree with me, or I’d be the victim of some cyber-bullying (no trolls yet,huzzah!). The worry of the blog was a burden to me long before I’d started one – how often would I post, what would I post about, would it matter what I said?! How ridiculous. I was so aware of being vulnerable and exposed on the internet that I felt I had already lost control of it - because that’s what I’m conditioned to believe. I have a wonderful friend from university who blogs; her articles are guides to Barcelona or why Peaches Geldof’s family should be able to grieve in peace. That’s the kind of blog I aspire to now, it was so nice to hear someone else was struggling with accepting the media, adverts and celebrity culture that appears to be dominating our lives. 

I don't think people are supposed to become products, yet it feels we are slowly becoming that way. Brands set up camp all over our bodies when we choose our daily outfit; logos and symbols emblazoned upon you  as you parade around the world. The video below is a prime example of how certain companies know that their clothing isn’t accessible to everyone and that they willingly want it that way. Therefore, the people who can afford brand status and are slim enough to wear a certain logo are doing the hard work for that company – you’ve bought into that lifestyle and are promoting a brand every single time you pop that tee-shit on, free of charge to said company. We’re not only made to feel inferior and insignificant by the company itself, but also by the people who the clothes are sold to. I mentioned before the girl whose blog I was in awe of; she markets herself flawlessly. My blog very rarely features photographs of myself not because I don't like how I look but because it doesn't matter how I look. The principle aim of this blog was to have a space where I felt comfortable in what I was saying - not in what I was wearing.

Drawing back to Banksy's interpretation of adverts and the almighty advertisers, I think it's important to remember we have a choice in what we consume. Not always, but we don't have to digest what is offered to us. How do you feel when you flick through a magazine that’s full of articles about celebrities’ bodies, Kim and Kanye’s weird relationship issues and how Jordan is fighting with her current partner? I’m against these magazines as much as Liverpool disowns The Sun. They bring no joy into my life, I don’t like seeing photos of ex-big brother contestants struggling with their weight and I definitely don’t enjoy seeing celebrities who seemingly don’t struggle with their weight.  Magazines that gravitate around the theme of scorning or celebrating weight issues seem such an alien concept to me that I point blank refuse to invest my money in them. Instead I buy magazines that are filled to the brim with adverts for things I most probably will never be able to afford. I know companies have to promote their products but it seems bizarre to me that I can buy a magazine for £2.60 (bargain) but it will be promoting clothes that cost upwards of £500. Maybe I’m still in cheapskate student mode but I feel something has gone amiss here.  

So what happens to the joyous things in life that aren't advertised? Smiles, nature and time? David Bond of 'Project Wild Thing' fame endeavored to market the outdoors to a generation of young people who loved the television more than walks in the park; he was worried that technology and modernity were having a negative impact of his children’s well-being. There are people alongside Banksy who recognise that adverts rearrange the world and tell us how our lives should be led, what new thing we need next and what we should invest our hard earned money in. Mr Bond challenged these ideals spectacularly by promoting the outdoors;

‘Children's lives are taken up with so much stuff these days. They - or their parents - are sold everything under the sun. So we decided to sell them something they really needed: the sun itself. If 'nature' was a business, its sales figures would be plummeting and its shareholders baying for blood. We thought it would be interesting to see if we could run a marketing campaign to encourage kids to go outdoors.’ (Bond)

Project Wild Thing is a lovely reminder of the power of one – almost 8000 people have pledged to explore nature due to David Bond's initiative. He believed that advertisements, television and modern media were detrimental to his children's life and he sought to change that. By challenging the way his children saw the world he has changed their world.  Don't let adverts boss you around and make you feel less than your worth. You have everything you need already.