John Pilger – Freedom Next Time

This is great speech by journalist John Pilger on the powers and dangers of corporate media. I think what’s most interesting about it is that he breaks from the Left/Right dialectic that plagues social change movements and takes liberalism to task for some of its crimes. The liberal Clinton administration increased the size of the …

The New York Times: Street Maps in Political Hues

This is an old Eyebeam R&D Project.  If you haven’t used Fundrace, try it out.  There’s something amazing about having access to the information.  But what is happening exactly?  Accoutability?  Transparency?  What is the result?  Maybe we should talk to Jonah. Excerpt of NY Times piece Fundrace was created by a small team at Eyebeam, …

PRWatch: Corporate Sponsored Slacktivism

After reading this, I wonder if artists or activists have been unwittingly influenced/inspired by some of these token, ineffective campaigns? If the culture is openly celebrating these supposed victories, one might believe they are actually effective. By Anne Landeman Recently while browsing the Web I came across UrbanDictionary.com, which is sort of a wiki of …

good answer to a relevant question by some guy

Q: Of the various projects the Anti-Advertising Agency has been involved in, which ones do you think have been most successful? A: I don’t really know for sure. To know we would have to do what is done in any marketing campaign, which is an impartial evaluation — surveys, testing, etc. And we don’t have …

Loss Aversion, Greenpeace, and Health

Here’s a pattern of tactics I realized have something in common. They all work by presenting a threat. Loss aversion, as it can be called, can be more motivating – using the stick instead of the carrot. ## Example 1 From Greenpeace:## The ranking criteria reflect the demands of the Toxic Tech campaign to the …

Hans Haacke

Hans Haacke lecture Gallatin School, New York University, April 15, 2008 S&S: As a political artist, how can you know when you’ve been successful? Haacke: I’ve been asked that question many times, and that question requires one to go around it before one really avoids it. I believe it is a relatively new phenomenon that …

NYT – April Fool! The Purpose of Pranks

By BENEDICT CAREY Published: April 1, 2008 Keep it above the belt, stop short of total humiliation and, if possible, mix in some irony, some drama, maybe even a bogus call from the person’s old flame or new boss. A good prank, of course, involves good stagecraft. But it also requires emotional intuition. “You want …

NYT – Is the Ad a Success? The Brain Waves Tell All

Neuroscience can provide “a more accurate way to understand what consumers really like,” Mr. Stagliano said, which helps to produce ads and programs that “break through the clutter” rather than contribute to it. “We measure attention, second by second; how emotionally engaged you are with what you’re watching, whether it’s a commercial, a movie or …