Brandalism

“Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” – Mark Twain

After todays class I started to think more about  cultural jamming. I really dont believe that the examples of the improveverywhere.com really are cultural jamming. Throughout the reading of the Harold article i kept focus on cultural jamming as interupting of the system, intervening and turning an idea or system on its head. I feel like for it to truly be cultural jamming you have to take the preconcieved idea or notion and flip it around to a worldwide audience. I think that idea also needs to be based on a capitalistic society. After some research today, i think i found a classic example of cultural jamming just as good, if not better, then the ones we discussed in class.


http://sobadsogood.com/2012/07/23/22-brilliant-examples-of-culture-jamming/ 

Im not sure how to post the pictures on here, but the above link is to a website showing billboards of the cultural movement known as Brandalism. Brandalism was a street art movement started in over five UK countries that challenged the authority and the status quo of the advertising industry. Their movement is displayed through the billboards they put up that have really provacative messages that really takes that idea or system like we discussed in class and flips it around. A good example of one of their works is a billboard that says "NIKE" with the classic "Just do it" slogan but in the nike logo the I is replaced with a knife and the words are dripping blood. I believe Brandalism is a great example of cultural jamming because its really flipping the system, the system being advertising, on a capitalistic level. I also believe its a good example of politics. The technical definition of politics, "is the practice and theory of influencing other people on a civic or individual level", and i truly believe thats what this movement does.