Adbusters is a political magazine, founded by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz that is published in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada by the Media Foundation. It is an activist magazine, devoted to numerous political and social causes, many of which are anti-consumerism or anti-capitalist in nature. The Adbusters Media Foundation is a 120,000-circulation magazine, the founder of Buy Nothing Day, and one of the sponsors of TV-Turnoff Week. Adbusters is not-for-profit, and is reader-supported. Politics is the process and method of decision-making for groups of human beings. ... A collection of magazines A magazine is a periodical publication containing a variety of articles, generally financed by advertising and/or purchase by readers. ... Kalle Lasn (born 1942) is the founder of Adbusters magazine and author of the book Culture Jam. ... This article refers to the city in British Columbia, Canada. ... Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change. ... Anti-consumerism is the rejection of consumerism. ... In economics, a capitalist is someone who owns capital, presumably within the economic system of capitalism. ... Buy Nothing Day demonstration, San Francisco, November 2001 Buy Nothing Day is an informal day of protest against consumerism observed by social activists. ... The TV turnoff network is an organization that tries to encourage children and adults to watch less television and so have more time for a healthier life and more community participation. ...

Adbusters has affiliation with sister organisations such as L'association Résistance à l'Aggression Publicitaire in France, Adbusters Norge in Norway, Adbusters Sverige in Sweden and Culture Jammers in Japan. Adbusters is a political magazine, founded by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz that is published in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada by the Media Foundation. ...

Mandate

The Adbusters mission statement:

We are a global network of artists, activists, writers, pranksters, students, educators and entrepreneurs who want to advance the new social activist movement of the information age. Our aim is to topple existing power structures and forge a major shift in the way we will live in the 21st century.

Adbusters is at essence an ecological magazine, examining the relationship between people and the environment, both the material environment and the mental environment.^[1]

Adbusters makes commentary on the social trends in developed nations, and their primary aim is to reduce the influence and prevalence of advertising and consumerism. A developed country is a country that has achieved (currently or historically) a high degree of industrialization, and which enjoys the higher standards of living which wealth and technology make possible. ... Advertising, generally speaking, is the promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas, usually performed by an identified sponsor. ... Consumerism is a term used to describe the effects of equating personal happiness with purchasing material possessions and consumption. ...

We will change the way information flows, the way institutions wield powers, the way the food, fashion, car and culture industries set their agendas. Above all, we will change the way we interact with the mass media and we will reclaim the way in which meaning is produced in society. ^[2]

Adbusters' intellectual position parallels that of the situationists, being concerned with "living by proxy". It can also be compared with Marxism, due to ideas of a placated public and revolution, and Freudianism due to thoughts about modern man being unsatisfied and out-of-place in current society. It describes principals of egalitarianism, and its political position seems close to that of socialism. The Situationist International (SI), an international political and artistic movement, originated in the Italian village of Cosio dArroscia on 28 July 1957 with the fusion of several extremely small artistic tendencies: the Lettrist International , the International movement for an imaginist Bauhaus, and the London Psychogeographical Association. ... Marxism is the philosophy, social theory and political practice based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century German, Jewish, socialist philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary. ... Sigmund Freud His famous couch Sigmund Freud (May 6, 1856 - September 23, 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology, a movement that popularized the theory that unconscious motives control much behavior. ... Egalitarianism can refer to moral as well as factual theories. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. ...

The mission of the Adbusters Media Foundation can also be identified with organizations such as Indymedia, Downhill Battle and CNUK. It also holds some common beliefs with Creative Commons Free Culture, No Logo, Green Peace and even PETA. The Independent Media Center, also called Indymedia or the IMC, is a loose network of amateur or alternative media organizations and journalists who organize into decentralized collectives, normally around geographic locations. ... Downhill Battle is a non-profit organization based in Worcester, MA. It launched in August 2003 and argues that the four major recording labels have a monopoly that is bad for both musicians and music culture. ... Version 2 of Some Rights Reserved logo No Rights reserved logo The Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization devoted to expanding the range of creative work available for others legally to build upon and share. ... The book cover Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity (2004) is a book by law professor Lawrence Lessig that was released on the Internet under the Creative Commons Attribution/Non-commercial license (by-nc 1. ... Front cover of No Logo. ... Greenpeace is an international environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971. ... Peta can refer to: For the SI prefix, see Peta (prefix) For the animal-rights organization, see PETA or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Peta is also the name of a town in Greece and a village of the prefecture of Achaia in Greece. ...

Issues

Blackspot campaign

In 2004, the organization began selling shoes with their black spot "anti-logo". The project is an experiment in "anti-capitalism": Each shoe comes with a share of stock in the company, allowing owners to vote on the website on new ventures and what to do with profits. The blackspot campaign has spawned other ideas, like blackspot music, or blackspot soda, which aim to compete in the marketplace with the large corporations they oppose. The most popular product in the blackspot campaign is the blackspot shoes. The shoes are made primarily from organic hemp and recycled car tires, and are made in Portugal by union labor. Womens shoes on display in a shop window, July 2005 A shoe is an item of footwear. ... The Blackspot Anticorporation is a project of AdBusters. ... A corporation (usually known in the United Kingdom and Ireland as a company) is a legal entity (distinct from a natural person) that often has similar rights in law to those of a Civil law systems may refer to corporations as moral persons; they may also go by the name... This is one of several related articles about cannabis. ...

Media Carta

New York City billboard

On September 13, 2004, Adbusters filed a lawsuit against six major Canadian television broadcasters (including CanWest Global, Bell Globemedia, CHUM Ltd., and the CBC) for refusing to air Adbusters videos in the television commercial spots that Adbusters attempted to purchase. Most broadcasters refused the commercials for reasons based on business principles. The lawsuit claims that Adbusters' freedom of expression was unjustly limited by the refusals. There has been talk that if Adbusters wins in Canadian court, they will file similar lawsuits against major U.S. broadcasters that also refused the advertisements. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 552 KB) Summary Contacted AdBusters and acquired this image, also any image off their website is fair use. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 552 KB) Summary Contacted AdBusters and acquired this image, also any image off their website is fair use. ... Flag Seal Nickname: Big Apple Location Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,214. ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... CanWest Global Communications Corp. ... Bell Globemedia Inc. ... CHUM can refer to a number of different Canadian entities: For the Canadian broadcasting group, see CHUM Limited For the Toronto AM station operated by CHUM Limited, see CHUM (AM) For the Toronto FM station operated by CHUM Limited, see CHUM-FM Centre hospitalier universitaire de Montréal is a... Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Cipher-block chaining ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Freedom of speech is the right to freely say what one pleases, as well as the related right to hear what others have stated. ...

It is, however, unlikely that they will be successful, as both the Canadian and American Constitutions only restrict the government from infringing upon freedom of speech, not private individuals and groups.

True cost economics

Adbusters traces many of the problems which exist in developed nations to the neo-classical economic system, which Adbusters believes leaves no room for morality. Adbusters supports the idea of true cost economics, which incorporates the environmental and human consequences of a product into its economic model. True cost economics involves taxing products that are perceived as being especially harmful to the environment or human welfare. In a culture which practices typical consumerism, consumers may be shielded from the costs of externalities such as trans-oceanic shipping, long-term environmental impact, or the lack of a living wage for the employees involved in creating the products. True Cost Economics taxes products in an attempt to accurately reflect all the hidden costs involved. Neoclassical economics refers to a general approach (a metatheory) to economics based on supply and demand which depends on individuals (or any economic agent) operating rationally, each seeking to maximize their individual utility or profit by making choices based on available information. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A diagram of the IS/LM model In economics, a model is a theoretical construct that represents economic processes by a set of variables and a set of logical and quantitative relationships between them. ... A tax (also known as a duty) is a financial charge or other levy imposed on an individual or a legal entity by a state or a functional equivalent of a state (e. ... Consumerism is a term used to describe the effects of equating personal happiness with purchasing material possessions and consumption. ... An externality occurs in economics when a decision (for example, to pollute the atmosphere) causes costs or benefits to individuals or groups other than the person making the decision. ... Living wage refers to the minimum hourly wage necessary for a person to achieve a basic standard of living. ...

Mental space

Adbusters opposes the unrestrained expansion of commerce into private life. Ad-creep is the concept that advertising is pushing ethical boundaries, and that many commercial activities are an opponent to mental wellbeing. Adbusters argues that the heavy advertising present in many cultures plays a large psychological role. Adbusters criticizes what they perceive as false values present in the commercial market, and a false sense of personal empowerment offered by it. The false demand created for commercial products is believed to get in the way of having a healthy mental state, and living a meaningful life. Ad-creep refers to the increase of advertising. ... Advertising, generally speaking, is the promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas, usually performed by an identified sponsor. ... Artificial demand constitues demand for something that in the abscence of exposure to the vehicle of creating demand, would not exist. ...

Adbusters groups their opposition to the hype, spin and misinformation which the magazine feels is common in mass media with the fight for mental space, believing that the mental environment is subject to the tragedy of the commons. Hype! is also the name of a documentary film about grunge music. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Misinformation is information that is incorrect, but not because of a deliberate attempt to mislead. ... Mass media is a term used to denote, as a class, that section of the media specifically conceived and designed to reach a very large audience (typically at least as large as the whole population of a nation state). ... The mental environment refers to the sum of all societal influences upon mental health. ... The tragedy of the commons is a phrase used to refer to a class of phenomena that involve a conflict for resources between individual interests and the common good. ...

Neo-luddism

On numerous occasions, Adbusters has made reference to an iminent apocalypse created by scientific technology. [1] [2] [3] Adbusters feels human society is in decline, and without change, there is "no future". A common theme in Adbusters magazines is defining a relationship between the advance of technology and unhappiness. There is also concern about the potential health and environmental dangers of emerging technologies. The main criticisms which adbusters has of modern science is that it is:
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Look up Apocalypse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

• Developing at an unsafe rate [4]
• Proceeding in a direction that is harmful, [5]
• Proceeding in a direction that is for capitalist ends. [6] [7]

Adbusters is opposed to genetically modified food and related projects of agribusiness , holding the practice as being damaging to physical and mental health. Adbusters opposes genetic engineering and the copyright of living organisms. A common ideal for food production is often illustrated as one that would mirror historic agriculture.
A genetically modified food is a food product derived in whole or part from a genetically modified organism (GMO) such as a crop plant, animal or microbe such as yeast. ... In agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term that refers to the various businesses involved in the food production chain, including farming, seed, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesaling, processing, distribution, and retail sales. ... An iconic image of genetic engineering; this autoluminograph from 1986 of a glowing transgenic tobacco plant bearing the luciferase gene of the firefly, illustrating the possibilities of genetic engineering. ... Copyright symbol. ...

Another of Adbuster's concerns is the widespread use of psychoactive medication. The Adbusters foundation takes a hard stand on psychoactive drugs, arguing that the pharmaceutical industry is not concerned with patient health, the government approves unsafe drugs, doctors are too eager to prescribe drugs, and patients are over-willing to medicate out of conformity. [8] A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a chemical that alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness, or behavior. ... Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon is drug, and logos is science) is the study of how chemical substances interfere with living systems. ... Conformity is the act of consciously maintaining a certain degree of similarity (in clothing, manners, behaviors, etc. ...

War

Adbusters' position on war ties in to their position on commercialism and overconsumption. A great deal of attention is paid to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, and an entire issue was focused on the question of the necessity of war, [9] and another issue was focused on the history of American combat.[10] The magazine repeatedly asserts that there is a connection between terrorism and American foreign policy, which they feel is flawed. Further, Adbusters asserts that there is a connection between the foreign policy of a nation, and the lifestyle of its citizens. While Adbusters rails against these perceived economic conditions that lead to war, the magazine also accuses many leading officials of immorality. In issue #63, Adbusters describes Vladimir Putin, Ariel Sharon, and George W. Bush as terrorists, and describes American ideology as fascist. Combatants Coalition Forces: United States United Kingdom Australia Poland Spain Japan Iraq Commanders Tommy Franks Saddam Hussein Strength 263,000 375,000 The 2003 invasion of Iraq, termed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the US administration, began on March 20. ... Terrorism refers to a strategy of using violence, or threat of violence to generate fear, cause disruption, and ultimately, to bring about compliance with specific political, religious, ideological, and personal demands. ... President of the United States, George W. Bush (right) at Camp David in March 2003, hosting the British Prime Minister Tony Blair. ... (Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин, Vladímir Vladímirovich Pútin; born October 7, 1952) is a Russian politician, and the current President of the Russian Federation. ... (Hebrew: אֲרִיאֵל שָׁרוֹן, also known by his diminutive Arik) (born February 26, 1928) is a former Israeli politician and a retired general. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American businessman and politician, was elected in 2000 as the 43rd President of the United States of America, re-elected in 2004, and is currently serving his second term in that office. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Culture jamming

Adbusters has been described as "the flagship publication of the culture jamming movement".^[3] Adbusters is particularly well-known for their culture jamming campaigns, and the magazine often features photographs of politically-motivated billboard or advertisement vandalism sent in by readers. Culture jamming is seen as public demonstration of the consequences of over-consumerism. It takes the form of clever billboard modifications, google bombing, flash mobs and fake parking tickets for SUVs. The aim of culture jamming is to create a large contrast between the corporate image and the real consequences of corporate behaviour. It is a form of protest, so the culture jammer aims to be as public as possible. Adbusters calls it "trickle up" activism, and encourages its readers to do these activities, and honours culture jamming work in the magazine. Culture jamming is the act of transforming existing mass media to produce negative commentary about itself, using the original mediums communication method. ... Advertising an Iranian beverage on a billboard along the Hemmat Highway in Tehran A billboard or hoarding is a large outdoor signboard, usually wooden, found in places with high traffic such as cities, roads, motorways and highways. ... Generally speaking, advertising is the paid promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas by an identified sponsor. ... A caricature of Gustave Courbet taking down a Morris column, published by Le Père Duchêne illustré magazine Vandalism is the conspicuous defacement destruction of a structure or symbol against the will of the owner/governing body. ... A Google bomb or Google wash is an attempt to influence the ranking of a given site in results returned by the Google search engine. ... A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, do something unusual or notable, and then disperse. ... This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers, and should be edited to rectify this. ... A corporate image refers to how a corporation is perceived. ... Demonstrators march in the street while protesting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on April 16, 2005. ...

Criticisms

Adbusters has been criticized for having a style and form that are similar to the media and commercial product which it attacks.^[4] This is particularly true in the case of its Blackspot Shoe campaign, about which it has been said that their existence proves that "no rational person could possibly believe that there is any tension between 'mainstream' and 'alternative' culture."^[3]

Heath and Potter's The Rebel Sell claims that the more alternative or subversive Adbusters feels, the more appealing it will become to the mainstream market. Consumers seek exclusivity and social distinction, which is in contrast to Adbusters' description of the mainstream consumer as a mindless conformist. It is argued that the mainstream market seeks the very same brand of individuality that Adbusters promotes; repression is not a target of the market, thus the Adbusters doctrine is "the true spirit of capitalism."^[3] one of several front covers The Rebel Sell: Why the culture cant be jammed is the name of a popular non-fiction book written by Canadian authors Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter in 2004. ... Conformity is the act of consciously maintaining a certain degree of similarity (in clothing, manners, behaviors, etc. ...

It has also been heavily criticized for running an article ^[5] that identified many of the leading neoconservatives as Jewish and questioned why this fact and its potential implications for US Middle East policy was not open to discussion.^[6] This topic was also recently brought up by political scientistics John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt to great controversy -- see AIPAC: Mearsheimer & Walt paper. Neoconservatism describes several distinct political ideologies which are considered new forms of conservatism. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... Professor John J. Mearsheimer John J. Mearsheimer (born December 1947) is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. ... // Selected awards 1988 -- Edgar S. Furniss National Security Book Award for The Origins of Alliances Academic career January 2000 -- Visiting Professor of Strategic Studies, Institute for Defense and Security Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 1996 - 1999 -- University of Chicago, deputy dean of social sciences 1995 - 1999 -- University of Chicago, professor... U.S. President George W. Bush addresses AIPAC members in Washington on May 18, 2004. ...

Further, an article printed several years ago concerning Cuba's relationship to American culture was criticized for taking a particularly socialist slant on the issue, and failing to comment upon the many threats to civil liberty that citizens in communist countries regularly face.

Adbusters often prints critical mail that it receives from its readers in each issue.

See also

• Guy Debord – philosopher quoted by Adbusters - "Live without dead time"

Guy Debord (December 28, 1931 – November 30, 1994) was a writer, film maker, hypergraphist and founding member of the groups Lettrist International and Situationist International (SI). ...

References

1. ^ "About Adbusters". Adbusters.org. Retrieved September 7, 2005.
2. ^ AdBusters Issue #25. May/June 2005.
3. ^ ^a b c Heath, Joseph and Potter, Andrew. The Rebel Sell. Harper Perennial, 2004.
4. ^ McLaren, Carrie. "Culture Jamming (tm): Brought To You By Adbusters". Stay Free!. Retrieved September 13, 2005.
5. ^ [http://canadiancoalition.com/adbusters01/ Why won't anyone say they are Jewish? ] by Kalle Lasn, AdBusters, March/April 2004
6. ^ Raynes-Goldie, Kate. "Race Baiting: AdBusters' Listing of Jewish Neo-cons The Latest Wacko Twist in Lefty Mag's Remake". Now Toronto. March 24, 2004.

September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... one of several front covers The Rebel Sell: Why the culture cant be jammed is the name of a popular non-fiction book written by Canadian authors Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter in 2004. ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in Leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Official website
• True cost economics
• Blackspot Sneaker - Adbusters's first shoe
• Interview with Kalle Lasn - Founder of Adbusters
• CNN interview with Kalle Lasn (archive link, was dead)
• Mindfucked: Kalle Lasn on toxic culture, mental environmentalism, and running shoes
• German Culture Jamming Website in English
• Culture Jammers find magic button for peace and quiet Sun Herald (April 13, 2005) Daniel Dasey.
• Activism for the Mind: Reclaiming Our Cerebral Commons, Kalle Lasn with Natasha Mitchell, ABC Radio National, All in the Mind 12 March 2005 .