Don't Call it a Comeback...

Without the few who have commented or dropped me a compliment-laden email, I would have never imagined a return to the world of blog-dom. Well haters I'm back of hiatus. That's right, it gives me great pleasure to announce that Dissecting Designs (now Design News) is officially back! For the few design junkies who've found this part of my blog-evolution, I'm now serving up a daily dose of design goodness (architecture, art, eco-everything, techno-crap etc...) over at my new(ish) home: HC2. Please stop in and give me a read. Don't forget to drop a comment bomb or two.

So Long and Thanks for all the Fish

Apologies to the few loyal readers of 'Dissecting Designs' who've gone 30 Days without any new content. Rest assured that my finds will still be available, just not in the format you've become accustomed to. I am saying goodbye to the world of blogging, just shy of my 1-year anniversary and my 100th post. Simply put, I am finding new things to occupy my time and anticipate that the near future will allow less time for leisurely activities. As I said, you will still be able to get your design fix from me, as I update my weekly design links each and every Monday over at HC Concepts. I have already begun researching how to enable comments on these posts, so to allow you all to keep in touch with me. I will still frequent your blogs, and comment from time to time. As for 'Dissecting Designs', it will stay up for prosperity and who knows maybe one day it will be brought back to life. Thanks for reading...

Addicted to Advertising (Part 5 of 5)
Road to Perdition

In this final episode of 'Addicted to Advertising' it is necessary to shed some light on a Red Herring in the advertising world. For years a Canadian group known as Adbusters, has inspired a small cohort of society to uncover dark secrets from the corporate world; also the founder of 'Buy Nothing Day'. This has been achieved through ad busting, which is the modification of media to humorously portray an alternative message. From billboards to shopping carts, Adbusters also created a series of commercials aimed at everything from fast food, image, over consumption and television. Needless to say that all of the television networks refused to sell them ad space, which leads Adbusters toward a necessary yet unfortunate road to perdition.

"In a totalitarian system, you aren't allowed to talk back to the government; in the corporate system, you can't talk back to the sponsor" (Adbusters). Major networks such as CTV, Canwest Global, MTV, and ABC, rejected Adbusters request to purchase advertising space on their networks, based on the grounds that the ads were counter productive. Certainly it would be hard to justify the airing of an anti-McDonald's spot to the golden arch executives, especially if an actual McDonald's ad preceded the Adbusters commercial. In retaliation, Adbusters filed lawsuits against Canwest and the Canadian Federal Government.

Whether or not Adbusters will come out on top of this battle remains to be seen. Even so, they've proposed a 4-step process towards the future of advertising and mental environmentalism. Step 1: Break the corporate advertising monopoly and embrace a new system of democratic media. Step 2: Dedicate 2-minutes of every hour of air time to broadcast citizen-produced messages, free of charge. Step 3: Give regular citizens control over the media and break up corporate media monopolies. Step 4: Enshrine the 'Right to Communicate' whereby every person has access to meaningful media. Are you ready for this, or happy with the status quo?

Holidays are just on the horizon, so 'Dissecting Designs' will be taking a two week hiatus and come back to life on July 17th. Until then try to stay cool without using the AC.

Addicted to Advertising (Part 4 of 5)
Camouflaged Campaigns

Advertisements makes us laugh, cry, think and above all else obey. With these things in mind, this episode of 'Addicted to Advertising' will offer a milieu of unconventional ads and integrated installations from around the world. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you had a celebrity's lips, nose or lack of self respect? An advertisement for Toronto plastic surgery plays off our vain curiosity, by lending a new beak to unsuspecting coffee drinkers (pictured above). An extension of this superficiality was offered up by Wonderbra, who use draw string and lace to illustrate the perky potential of their pricey undergarments (pictured above).

These concepts are not as bold as traditional billboards and print ads, as they can be seamlessly implemented with their surroundings. Yet ads can also be more prominent, while being eerily integrated with the environment. To that end, one campaign to raise awareness for speeding near schools does little to sugar coat the worse case scenario (pictured above). These horrific ads are effectively implanted on windshields to evoke a change in behaviour, and although similar installations are considerably friendlier they are equally effective. In this regard, a recent ad for Papa John's places a pizza delivery man on your doorstep. This is achieved with a foldable advertisement that is affixed directly in front of your door's peep hole (pictured right). The only thing this ad lacks is an artificial odor of hot pizza pie. Don't get me started on the viability of smellovision...

Lastly, a return to vanity and more specifically the world of high end jewelry. Common sales tactics for such accessories involve 'trying it on for size' with the intention that the buyer won't be able to take it off. Print ads for one jeweler allow potential buyers to poke holes into their ads and 'wear' $50,000 watches, rings and necklaces (pictured left). This type of marketing is focused towards certain magazines and thus, advertisers for this brand are only going to get their product seen by this publication's buyers and subscribers. A brilliant and more widespread example of these wearable ads can be seen in buses, where riders are invited to try on a gorgeous watch, carefully disguised as an overhead handle (pictured right). All of these fully integrated ideas blur the lines between advertising and reality, thereby making us less aware that we are being targeted and influenced.

Addicted to Advertising (Part 3 of 5)
Google Your Thoughts

Google has created the most sophisticated artificial intelligence systems ever built. In a fraction of a second, it can evaluate millions of variables about its users and advertisers, correlate them with its potential database of billions of ads and deliver the message to which each user is most likely to respond. Luckily 'Dissecting Designs' does not subscribe to Google ad programs, as we blog for fun, not for profit. As a Gmail user, we are aware that sending a saucy love letter could result in links to everything from sex shops, dating services and penile enlargement. Google's ability to interpret data generated $6.1 billion in ad sales last year, which is more than any newspaper chain, magazine publisher or television network. With that in mind, their plans for the future of advertising are more elaborate and invasive than anything we've ever experienced.

Google Labs is gearing up to take over all forms of media with new software that will evaluate whatever you're watching on television or listening to on the radio, and generate targeted ads. By using your home computer, Google will analyze five second snippits of in-home audio, compare it against their database and identify the program being watched. Although the system does not work well with background chatter, what's to stop the most powerful advertiser from targeting your conversations to pin point relevant ads? Google has not stated how they plan on getting people to use this software, yet it would seem that most of us would rather not subject our families to more "relevant" junk.

Google's effectiveness is only possible when we are at our computers, however this is about to change. Reportedly, Google has been buying up unused fibre optic (dark fibre) networks from bankrupt telecom companies. As well, they're WiFi experiment in parts of the US has been a huge success, enabling them to obtain the position of connected cell phones and PDAs, and deliver location specific ads (pictured right). Combining a fibre optic network with WiFi could result in nationwide connectivity to Google advertisements. But again why would we subject ourselves to more ads? With offerings such as: Google Earth, Google Video and Google Scholar, it may only be a matter of time until we're dedicated to their free software served over fast fibre optics.

Addicted to Advertising (Part 2 of 5)
Blueprint for Disaster

Is the earth on life support as a cause of our toxic lifestyle, or is it capable of healing itself after all the inflicted punishment? Generally speaking our beliefs about the earths strength or lack thereof fall into one of four categories: Nature Benign - nature is very robust and responds well to man-made disturbances. Nature Ephemeral - nature is fragile and does not respond well to man-made disturbances. Nature Perverse - nature can tolerate disturbances up to a certain degree. If disturbances are small, nature will return to equilibrium but larger disturbances pose a threat. Nature Capricious - nature is random and unpredictable and we will never know exactly how it will respond to disturbances. With an eye towards these basic concepts, we'll examine the National Parks Conservation Association's (NPCA) latest advertising campaign.

The campaign instills an ephemeral outlook on earth through a series of posters, which offer blueprints for recreating and safegaurding nature's irreplaceable treasures. Whether you find this humorous or saddening, the fact of the matter is they get the job done by making us think. One poster features a giant sequoia constructed out of unnatural materials, with a caption "mass production for forest effect pending approval" (pictured above / left). Another print showcases Yosemite Falls as a massive plumbing project, which notes "trees, shrubs, miscellaneous nature to be contracted out" (pictured right). The series also incorporates blueprints for reinforcing Utah's arches, claiming "arch coating available in dessert orange, salmon and dusty rose" (pictured below / left).

These public service ads were generously created by Y&R, while the media at large has provided free ad space to broadcast the message. The celebrity train also pulled into the station, with endorsements coming from comedian Jerry Seinfeld, athlete Allan Houston, journalist Walter Cronkite, and award winning actors Richard Dreyfuss and Morgan Freeman. In the end, this campaign stands a good chance of building awareness regarding the fragility of nature, but it does little in terms of offering a clear solution. Their message "it's not like we can make new ones" requires too much thinking to get the support of Average Joe. In future campaigns I'd prefer see a return to the consise message of Smokey the Bear, who used to hold our hand and illustrate the consequences of our actions. Only you can prevent environmental destruction.

Addicted to Advertising (Part 1 of 5)
World Cup Frenzy

"You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements" (Norman Douglas). What does this statement say about the plight of the capitalist machine? Are we simply walking, talking, thinking, breathing branded meat sacks? We are brainwashed from a young age to oblige the commands of fast food peddling clowns, sugar selling cartoons, and image influencing celebrities. The goal of branding and advertising is to attract as many customers as possible, and create lifelong consumers. In this premier edition of 'Addicted to Advertising', we'll delve into the strictly regulated promotions that advertise the World Cup.

In June 2000, Germany won the right to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup, beating bids from Brazil, England, Morocco, and South Africa (who will host the 2010 World Cup). This soccer celebration began on 9 June 2006, with the championship match scheduled for 9 July 2006. Drawing 32 national teams from around the world, this soccer celebration packs 12 German stadiums for a solid month of sport. The excitement is widespread as enthusiasts and couch potatoes around the world park themselves in bars and pubs to watch their team achieve glory.

It would be ridiculous to conceive of such an event free from the talons of major corporations. However, FIFA has Olympic-style regulations that govern corporate sponsorship. This was enforced to such an extreme that arenas had to be temporarily renamed, and all unauthorized advertisements were outlawed within a certain radius of all stadiums. Following this purge, FIFA opened up the floor and entertained offers from the highest bidders. This resulted in oversized goal keepers erected over German highways, slathered with Addidas logo's (pictured middle / left). Otherwise, artistic World Cup posters incorporated sport and national pride (pictured top / right), while an Addidas fresco ceiling welcomed visitors to the Hauptbahnhof train station (pictured above / right). Sure FIFA's main commodity is soccer, but they've done a great job endorsing everything from razors to laptops and burgers.