Week 11
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
(2010), Ch. 11: 'Debating Advertising, Branding and Celebrity'.
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 Case Study.
Optional Reading: McLuhan and Fiore, 1967,
pp. 8, 25-26, 41, 68, 82-85, 88, 93, 114, 126-28, 142, 148, 150.
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.
Case Study
If you choose to write a Case Study using the concepts
drawn from this week's vehicle strand you will need to address the question
of advertising and branding. You might use Naomi Klein's discussion in No
Logo to look at the changing ways in which a particular product has
been advertised over the years. Alternatively you could examine how the
identity of a brand has been constructed and marketed through advertising,
sponsorship, and other means.
Useful Reading: Branston and Stafford,
2010, Ch. 11; Klein, 2000; Lupton
and Miller, 1996d; Lupton and Miller, 1996g;
Newbold et al. 2002, Ch. 7; Schor,
2005; Desmond, 2003; Lasn,
2000.
If you would rather make use of McLuhan's notion of anti-environments, you
could choose some individual or organisation - an artist, charity, campaign
group, etc - and examine the way in which they have made some imperceptible
environment visible to us. You will need to discuss both the environment
that we tend not to see, and the way in which an anti-environment has been
deployed to provide an 'early warning system'.
Useful Reading: Duffy,
1969, Ch. 8; Tyler, 2013; Rae, no date, 'Art'; McLuhan, 1966; McLuhan, 1965; McLuhan, 1968.
Whatever you choose, you will probably want to arrange a tutorial with the
Module Tutor. For more information on the Case
Study see the section on Assessment in the Module Handbook.
Before the Next Class You Need To...
(1) Read Branston and Stafford (2010), pp.
323-27 on celebrities.
(2) Read Starkey (1995).
If you're stuck or confused, post your problem on the Module Forum or .