Culture Jamming: Smart, Unsettling, For Grins

Culture jamming does not hold a specific political position, cultural standpoint or message; culture jammers work against a sheep mentality or the blind followers of mass media and popular culture. The Most recognized outlet for culture jammers is through mock advertisements which reveal truths through a “play on words” or images, twisted slogans and parodied marketing campaigns. At first glance the original and “jammed” ad cannot be differentiated.

Culture jamming is seen as an art form, a kind of guerrilla communication, social activism and anti-consumerism. An example of this “guerrilla communication” is jammed Absolut Vodka advertisements. The original campaigns for Absolut feature the distinct clear bottle as a centerpiece, and underneath the “Absolut ______” slogan, whether it be absolute joy, absolute holiday or absolute party. While on the other hand, the jammed Absolut ads emphasize discomforting truths of the product, including alcoholism, impotency and drinking and driving. The ads used such slogans as Absolut impotence which illustrates a floppy, tilted, shrivelled Absolut bottle and absolute tragedy, featuring a car having flipped into the ditch, lying next to a body bag distinctively shaped as their bottle. For those who created these jammed ads, they work exactly how they are supposed to, but for audiences, they communicate everything we’ve feared, ignored and even forgotten.

This particular form of culture jamming brings our attention back to the dangers in our consumer habits, self-abusive lifestyles and the adverse outcomes for some. This art form approaches social awareness in some cases by “poking fun” and in others fear-mongering, but undoubtedly by tapping into what we find funniest, our insecurities and what scares us the most.