ashatompkins

[ashatompkins]

Analyzing Adbuster Spoofs

TRIGGER WARNING** Before you view my post, I want to state that a few of the images may be disturbing or triggering for some. My analyses showcase the images given their context and the knowledge provided to me through the textbook. Please use your discretion!

The first Adbuster spoof I will analyze appears to be an indexical sign. We observe that the Earth has been plowed over by a dirty tire track. The Earth is its characteristic blue and green color with geographical formations spread across it. The tire track isn’t simply imprinted on the now flattened planet, it starts out with black marks on the white backdrop, showcasing that it’s dirty. This picture is representing the carbon footprint that car emissions leave on the planet which destroy the atmosphere. The words “what was that bump?” imposes a rhetorical question to the viewer. Obviously a planet was the bump, but it’s silly to assume that a car can run one over. This makes the message so much more pertinent because we can’t see the direct effects our car may have on the environment, but this graphic creates a clever visual effect of human ignorance. Something else to note is that the coloring of the Earth is vibrant and beautiful yet the tracks are unappealing and unnatural, a viewer might think “why would you ruin such a pretty thing,” that thought in itself just may be the whole purpose of the ad.

I found this ad to be extremely pertinent to today’s society. We place such a heavy emphasis on body positivity and self-care, yet we forget that insecurities will exist always. We see a man in what society deems to be in good shape. By the shadowing it seems like he’s healthy with a youthful glow. He’s looking down and we realize from the title “obsession for men” that he’s still not completely happy with the one thing that is out of his control which he seems to be insecure about based on the unhappy look on his face. The color of the title is a sickly yellow, which can exhibit the presence of mental illness, sickness and cowardice. The rest of the picture is black and white and that exudes the absence of any good emotion, we feel a sense of coldness and detachment. While the man’s body is well-kept and it seems that he spends a lot of time making it look the best it can, we see that it doesn’t balance out his greatest insecurity.

This photo goes along with the last photo, “obsession for women.” We see a woman keeled over a toilet bowl holding her stomach, you can see her ribs through her back and she seems quite frail. Going along with the societal construct we have for the stereotypical norm of what a “woman” should look like, we can see that she may have a concern with her weight. Eating disorders are not always fueled by societal pressures, but given the title I will place the assumption that this is what the ad intended to focus on. The sickly yellow in the title exhibits the presence of mental illness and sickness. The rest of the image has nearly a sepia hue, but it is black and white, which tells the viewer that the emotions here are dark. The subject’s back is turned to the camera, and it creates this barrier between her and the world. In a way, having her back turned is almost symbolic of feeling bogged down by the inability to live up to societal standards.

This ad was extremely unsettling and heartbreaking. We see a full color picture as a knock-off of an Apple promotional ad. On one side we see a malnourished child, and on the other we see a healthy hand holding a piece of technology. The line used is “thinner than ever.” We know that Apple’s goal as a technology company is to make their tech the most efficient yet comfortable to hold by making it thinner and more versatile, as if it is a necessity. While trillions of dollars have gone into the production of this kind of technology, we are shown the other side of a human spectrum where food is the necessity, and yet so little money has gone toward it. Solving world hunger is an ongoing problem, yet we pour most of our money into luxuries. This ad placed the child beneath the piece of technology, which may be seen as a strategic placement: it showcases where humanity’s priorities lay. The other thing is that the child is not holding the piece of technology, as if it’s an unreachable dream. This ad is powerful and jarring, it exhibits the sad reality that we live in through very uncomfortable imagery.

SOURCES

Lester, P. M. (2020). Visual communication: Images with messages. Dallas, TX: Lex Publishing.

Spoofs: Adbusters Media Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2021, from https://www.adbusters.org/spoof-ads