THE POWER OF ADVERTISING

one of the hundreds of future paths that i am currently considering is that of a graphic designer. I've always been enamored by a really good fucking advertisement, not in the sense that it made me want to buy the product, but sort of like an admiration of the effectiveness of the message. it's such a powerful tool

man – advertising is such dangerous territory. in one sense a really good ad can be almost exhilirating. like this one (admittedly i didnt really get it at first, but once it hit me – WOW) it's so effective, so elegant, not overwhelming but captivating

the simplicity of this concept is almost perfect. i've posted this ad before, and i think its fucking awesome, whether or not you agree with the message the creativity with which it has been transmitted is impressive.

but theres a potentially ugly side to it too. ads as effective as this do not speak to your conscious mind, they communicate directly with your subconscious. there is no dialogue, the average person doesnt have the opportunity to question the authenticity of the claims the advertisement makes, so in a deep way, we accept whatever the ad is telling us. its scary because we have to trust the ethics of the people who are trying to SELL something to us, which i need not detail how dangerous that can be.

but man – these are powerful images

and in the same way that one powerful image can become your truth, so can a barrage of bland images. its basically hypnosis. and tends to be the more devious campaigns - the assault mostly targeted on our women.

i've always had reservations about the field of marketing and advertising... I'm worried that working with such a monster long enough will turn me into one. especially if i get good at it. i enjoy the field but i don't respect it's intentions, and i dont want to become part of that monster, or worse yet, become that monster myself.

Still have alot of figuring out to do man. *sigh*