Week 10
Vehicle Strand: Advertising and Branding
In this first part of the class we consider Naomi
Klein's discussion of advertising and branding in her book No
Logo. We look at the shift made by some of the world's most financially
successful corporations from the advertising of products to the marketing
of a brand. We then discuss the question of shock advertising, looking at
Hermann Vaske's documentary
The Fine Art of Separating People From Their Money, and at the controversial
advertising campaigns of Benetton
in particular.
Required Reading: Branston and Stafford
(2006), Ch. 9: 'Advertising and Branding'.
Environment Strand: Environments and Anti-Environments
In this second part of the class we engage with McLuhan's notion of the
anti-environment, a means of making ourselves aware of the imperceptible
media environments to which we are ordinarily subject. By way of example
we consider Andy Warhol's
iconoclastic Campbell's Soup Can, the sprays of 'Exterior Paint Specialist'
Banksy, and the culture-jamming and
spoof advertisements of
Adbusters. We close by reviewing
the assessment requirements for the Module Forum.
Optional Reading: McLuhan and Fiore, 1967,
pp. 8, 25-26, 41, 68, 82-85, 88, 93, 114, 126-28, 142, 148, 150.
Optional Reading: McLuhan, 1969.
Module Forum
Topics under discussion in the Module Forum this week
include advertising by Benetton
and Pepsi, shampoo and Naomi
Klein's analysis of brands, mobile phones in The
Matrix, McLuhan's anti-environments, Andy
Warhol, Banksy and Adbusters.
For more information on the Module Forum see the section on Assessment in
the Module Handbook.
Before the Next Class You Need To...
(1) Read Branston and Stafford (2006), pp.
317-28: 'Celebrity, Stardom and Marketing'.
(2) Read Starkey (1995).
If you're stuck or confused, post your problem on the forum or .