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Adbusters Vs. Calvin Klein (Obsession) Design has often been used as a medium to persuade and influence; in many ways a political tool. Now in the twenty-first century designers ever more often have to question their practices and their relationship to the communication process, not just as a persuasive ‘political’ tool, but also in a wider social context as ‘responsible’ design takes on greater importance. In a different vein, as technology makes the practical tools of design creation simpler for the non-designer this is causing professional and commercial conflict within the design industry. On the flip side, design is taking on an increasingly important role in creating and refining services. On their website (http://www.adbusters.org/about/adbusters, no date), Adbusters describe themselves as “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." They use media campaigns to change opinions on corporate, environmental and socio-political issues, notably through ‘subvertisements’ (a portmanteau of subversive advertisements). Their anti-consumerist and largely anti-corporate agenda, parallels many views of the socialist Karl Marx, while the conflict of ideals between Adbusters and Calvin Klein exemplifies the theories of the Marx-inspired socialist Pierre Bourdieu, as any advertising campaign would, the Adbusters anti-Obsession campaign lends itself to analysis under the theories of semiotics. Calvin Klein’s ‘Obsession’ fragrance has been the focus of several adverts since the 1980’s, as a search on the Advertising Archives (keywords ‘Calvin Klein’ & ‘Obsession’, http://www.advertisingarchives.co.uk, correct at 29/11/12) shows, however in the mid 1990’s model Kate Moss rose to fame as one of the first popular ‘waif’ models, Adbusters seemingly took offense to this new body image. One video advert by Adbusters opposes this look directly, (http://www.adbusters.org/spoofads/fashion, no date) showing, 16 seconds into the video, a woman throwing up into a toilet with the voiceover, “Why are nine out of ten women dissatisfied with some aspect of their own bodies?” This alludes to bulimia, inline with the well-known accusations of Kate Moss (among other models) having an eating disorder. True to the semiotic theory of transferable qualities, Calvin Klein try to make their adverts look classy (commonly using art noir style photography and tasteful nudes, thus associating their product with these ideals and implying they can be transferred to you via the product) and it would be in poor taste for them to make an eating disorder seem desirable. However it is also well-known that Kate Moss has repeatedly denied having any kind of eating disorder and so Calvin Klein cannot be accused of making a poor body image desirable in this case. The style of the spoof campaign is dictated by the advert that it emulates, so retains some of the qualities the original advert employs however using a bait-and-switch technique, Adbusters subvert the implications of the original. For example in the case of the vomiting woman, she appears at first similar to any other art noir

Figure 1: Undisclosed Title, Mario Sorrenti, Calvin Klein's Obsession (1995)

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model, when suddenly this is replaced by the repugnant image of someone vomiting, marring the original idea thus subverting the intentions of the original Calvin Klein advert. By attaching negative qualities to the

brand and models (as can be seen earlier in the video where the model checks his genitals after the word ‘preoccupation’ appears on screen, again implying insecurity) intending to stop viewers wanting to be like them. Adbusters also target the word ‘obsession’ itself by linking it with ‘infatuation’, ‘fascination’, ‘fetish’ and so on, words which can have positive or negative connotations, the associated imagery then emphasises the negative connotations. As Adbusters imitate the adverts with a different message, viewers will notice how they are being influenced and how companies manipulate the way the public thinks, ultimately bringing the viewer round to Adbusters’ way of thinking This consumerism/anti-consumerism rhetoric essentially boils down to capitalism vs. Marxism. Calvin Klein, as a capitalist (in its simplest terms profit from supply and demand) entity, tries to increase demand with adverts that get the consumer to see their own value or worth as a person as being inseparable from acquiring products, resulting in increased profit. The Marxist theory of Alienation explains; because capitalism reduces people’s efforts (of production) into wages, we seek to meet our

human needs by trading these wages for things produced, in such a distorted way that unnecessary or even harmful products, for example cigarettes, alcohol or fashion, become central to a sense of self-worth. In line with this idea, Adbusters want the viewer to reject the way self-worth is manipulated to sate another person’s greed. A Marxist might suggest that Calvin Klein are selling us not items but subtext, the ‘transferable qualities’ of whatever ideal their product represents, whereas a capitalist might say that subtext is as much a quality of an object as its physical materials and should be bought and sold as such. They sell the self-worth you might not be able to find at work, home, or any other personal sphere. In a Marxist’s ideal world, producers only create what people want and consumers only pay what they think the product is worth, in our capitalist society, producers use advertising to make their product appear to be the best rather than make it the best. Advertising and the media don’t show reality, for example the beautiful models in the ‘Obsession’ campaign play to stereotypes of the ideal human body figure, not an average one. Adbusters, critical of the iconography of the perfect body, suggest that the bodies we are conditioned to find attractive are often achieved through unattractive means. Their statement is clear; Calvin Klein capitalize on insecurities. Adbusters identify how the original campaign manipulates consumers regarding their self worth, then exposes the capitalist Calvin Klein for exploiting people to increase their own monetary worth which as Alienation Theory explained, is tied to the self worth of the company owners. Bourdieu (1984), claims “aesthetic choices both create class-based social groups or class fractions,” and, “When an individual encounters the culture or art of another class, he or she feels disgust”. This explains the intolerance of Adbusters towards Calvin Klein and explains why they would want to change consumers’ ideals, unfortunately Marxist’s Alienation Theory only speculates that capitalism creates the self-value void

Figure 2: Nancy Bleck Obsession For Women for Adbusters (2011)

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in consumers, it could be that self-worth is the cause of the demand that results in capitalism. Adbusters’ intention with this campaign is to make you realize that a brand or product does not enhance or change you as a person, but are they truly noble? Their emulations, rather than just making a social commentary, attack brands and tarnish their identities by associating them with negative qualities even, as in the case of the eating disorders, if the association is unfounded. This is an example of two tactics that corporations and the media commonly use; implied connections and source amnesia. By implying connections one can speak without repercussions as any slanderous connections are made by the listener, for example note this headline by D. Sapstead (2006), “Boy, 13, Fired Shotgun Into Cousin's Face After Playing Gangster Game”, reading the article explains that the shooting and the game bear no connection as the shooting was an accident however the connection between the two ideas has been made, this is where source amnesia comes into play. K.J. Mitchell and M.K. Johnson (2000) explain, “From both everyday experience and laboratory studies, it is clear that people sometimes succeed and sometimes fail at discriminating the knowledge of mental experiences.” Newspapers often use questions as headlines, like this imagined example, “Wind Power Not As Green As You Think?” The idea that wind power might not be environmentally friendly has been planted and may be all you remember later. In the case of Adbusters, the idea that Calvin Klein inspires bad body images is planted. It is of note too that the models are likely very confidant; the consumers are more likely to be self-conscious, it could be said that Calvin Klein help people feel good about themselves, while Adbusters make people feel bad about wanting to improve themselves and use guilt and insecurities to turn the public against corporations, to advance their Marxist agenda. Adbusters’ adverts are heavily linked to constructivism, though by using a person to ‘sell’ their ideas, including imagery used in advertising and focusing on mass culture, in a sense they buy into Pop Art; it is unlikely that was their intention as in many cases pop artists glorified corporations and capitalism, to quote Andy Warhol (1975), “…you know that the President drinks Coca-Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca-Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca-Cola, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking.” Adbusters seem to be unaware of the irony that they use the same tactics as those they fight against, essentially they are two sides of the same scale, both using advertising for their own agendas and turning people into products to make a point and while one agenda may be more noble than the other, in the ideal world Adbusters strive for it would be up to the consumers to decide what is best for them, with both options clearly laid out and no advertising ploys from either side to lead their decision.

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Bibliography

Adbusters (no date). About. Available: http://www.adbusters.org/about/adbusters. Last accessed 29th Nov 2012. Adbusters (no date). Fashion Slashin. Available: http://www.adbusters.org/spoofads/fashion. Last accessed 29th Nov 2012. Bordieu, P. (1984). A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. In: Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. 2nd ed. Cambridge (MA): Harvard University Press. p56. Mitchell, K. J. & Johnson, M. K. (2000). Source monitoring: Attributing mental experiences. In: Tulving E. & Craik F.I.M. The Oxford handbook of memory. New York: Oxford University Press. p179-180. Sapstead, D. (2006). Boy, 13, fired shotgun into cousin's face after playing gangster game. Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1509536/Boy-13-fired-shotgun-into-cousins-face-after-playing-gangster-game.html. Last accessed 15th January 2013. Warhol, A. (1975). Work. In: The philosophy of Andy Warhol : from A to B and back again.. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. pg87-104