Referat Our Ad Ad Ad World

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Our Ad Ad Ad World Is There Any Alternative? In May, the advertising industry will pay tribute to its most accomplished and clever television commercials at its annual Cliotm; Awards. But its real achievement, the monopolization of so much of our cultural space with commercial messages, will go unremarked. When we think about "the media" we rarely consider advertising. We may respond critically to the news, television shows, or movies, but we pay little notice to the 3000 pound elephant grazing in our living rooms. But this year, while advertising executives toast their successes at New York s Town Hall, media critics and scholars downtown will consider the consequences of what Village Voice ad critic Leslie Savan calls our "ad ad ad world" and what, if anything, we might do about it. despite the alluring promises of this year s Cliotm; winners. We may all want to be healthy, but we don t struggle for affordable health care. Instead we buy sneakers and ab machines and designer jogging gear. We may all want quality time with our kids, but opportunities to debate the merits of parental leave or a shorter work week are few, and so we purchase more toys. Ad spending last year topped $160 billion in the U.S. Every penny was tax deductible. If only a small portion of that deduction were closed, say for advertising on national media, or advertising aimed at children, or on beer, alcohol and cigarette ads, billions of dollars could be raised for educational and public service media. Or, since much of advertising piggybacks for free on the airwaves and other spaces which belong to the public, perhaps a rent or license fee should be charged for commercial use of public space, as Dr. Ewen suggests. Whatever the merits of individual proposals to reduce the power of advertising and enrich the cultural environment, it s time for a public debate on the role of advertising and consumption in our society. It is, we should remember, not inevitable but a choice that an affluent society like ours devotes itself to the endless promotion of personal consumption rather than uses its wealth to educate its citizens, feed the hungry, make art and music, build public transportation, conserve resources, reduce the work week, construct affordable housing, provide universal health care, or address any one of our many social problems. Advertising alone is not responsible for consumer society. But its pervasiveness leaves little room for our society to explore other options. Just as we don t want our air polluted with carcinogens or our food stuffed with empty calories, why do we accept that our minds and our children s minds should be exposed relentlessly and uncritically to advertising? The writers and directors and editors and all the others who labored to create this year s Cliotm; winners will be rightfully feted for their artful genius and creativity. But perhaps we should also feel a little sorry for them - and for ourselves - that all that talent and energy and money is being devoted not to educate, uplift, challenge or provoke us but to sell us. 쥁@