What is so bad about advertising?
I grew up in a family, and in a social circle, that pretty much thinks advertising is bad, period. But is it really advertising that we have been reacting so strongly against, or something deeper? Isn't saying that advertising is bad like saying that dating is bad?
What I mean is, the thing has to happen. Like eating. And like eating, it is a specific, well-defined activity, and yet pretty much infinite in the variety of forms it can take.
And then... there is the subject of evangelism. From the Greek Eu(good)-angelion(message or news). I have agonized so long over the content of the "gospel of Jesus"-- yet again, it can be stated in so many ways, in so many tones of voice, motivated by so many different motivations.
I like the idea of "memes", which seems to finally be getting some popular airplay in the metaphor of "DNA". Good viruses, bad viruses... spreading effectively or ineffectively... All this comes into play when you talk about "spreading the word". It begs the question... if a message is "good" but can't seem to spread worth a damn, is it really "good" after all? Perhaps that's where eternity comes in. Hateful racist message, spreads fast, but can't be sustained, ends up feeding on itself. Message of sacrificial love, spreads slowly, but ends up "inheriting the earth"... as time tends toward eternity.
Anyway, I am going to try to spread some mundane messages in this blog, and I imagine also some less mundane messages. I just ask that you skim it all, it won't be that hard to read--I don't think. (Rachel says, or said--I'm not sure it still is there--"I guarantee you could be reading something better", when in fact her stuff is pretty good. I will assure you that it will always be worth your while--who knows, maybe it will be?)
What I mean is, the thing has to happen. Like eating. And like eating, it is a specific, well-defined activity, and yet pretty much infinite in the variety of forms it can take.
And then... there is the subject of evangelism. From the Greek Eu(good)-angelion(message or news). I have agonized so long over the content of the "gospel of Jesus"-- yet again, it can be stated in so many ways, in so many tones of voice, motivated by so many different motivations.
I like the idea of "memes", which seems to finally be getting some popular airplay in the metaphor of "DNA". Good viruses, bad viruses... spreading effectively or ineffectively... All this comes into play when you talk about "spreading the word". It begs the question... if a message is "good" but can't seem to spread worth a damn, is it really "good" after all? Perhaps that's where eternity comes in. Hateful racist message, spreads fast, but can't be sustained, ends up feeding on itself. Message of sacrificial love, spreads slowly, but ends up "inheriting the earth"... as time tends toward eternity.
Anyway, I am going to try to spread some mundane messages in this blog, and I imagine also some less mundane messages. I just ask that you skim it all, it won't be that hard to read--I don't think. (Rachel says, or said--I'm not sure it still is there--"I guarantee you could be reading something better", when in fact her stuff is pretty good. I will assure you that it will always be worth your while--who knows, maybe it will be?)
posted by Joel GL at 11:18 PM
2 Comments:
Speaking as one of the family and tangentially agreeing with Peter, I don't think advertising is exactly what "we" are against. I enjoy a clever commercial just as much as the next person and I even look forward to superbowl commercials. I think what makes me itch is more a consumerism that implies that we are defined by things we buy and they will make us happy. And there is a bit of a sense of being a 'captive audience'...that you can't surf the internet, read email, watch TV without being bombarded with these messages. How we define 'captive audience' certainly frames how we treat these messages as 'free speech.' Free speech is only protected if the audience has the choice not to hear and more and more often, we feel like we do not have a choice to not hear.
Here's a tidbit from Generation Debt: Studies suggest that children who watch more TV commercials tend to be more depressed and more anxious.
I like Peter's distinction between advertising and marketing, but it may be a little too fine. I think forms are important when it comes to ads. And how pervasive (invasive?) they are.
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