01 July 2005

Hire a mind from AdBusters

Public handlers are institutions that delicately shape the minds and affairs of the general public. The best PBs are without doubt those who criticize public handling. Ad Busters, and their guerrilla style marketing of a knock-off BlackSpot sneaker and the Unswoosher, is a case in point. Their anti-Converse Chuck Taylor classic 'blackspot' sneaker products scream anti-establishment as much as Nike screams establishment. Nike's purchase of Converse provided the market timing. Of course, Ad Busters lack the tremendous breadth and depth of Nike's market. Is it possible to call the white spot a brand? Moreover, is it possible to brand an anti-brand or brand an anti-establishment movement? I believe that anti-institution has become an institution.
Accordingly, institution has run out of steam. Westerners have become accustomed and aware of corporate manipulation. Ads are not capturing the Western attention; we have a history of ad-filtration. One glossy yet featureless minivan/car/SUV navigating the windy slippery/cliffy/snowy road/street/boulevard...is easy to ignore. A clever head of Nike mar-com would hire the likes of Mr. Ad Busters or Naomi Klein to run their ad campaign and marketing division. What they need is a conspiracy theory, an advertising conspiracy theory: Something that doesn't quite fit. The combination of establishment and anti-establishment would be highly effective; nobody would get it or ignore it--for a while.