“In one 45-minute journey, the average London commuter is exposed to more than 130 adverts” , Advertising is so widespread and overwhelming that it affects almost everybody, we have become desensitised to it, allowing corporations to break down the unconscious parts of our minds. “Satire is a powerful art form which has the ability to point out the deficiencies in certain human behaviours and the social issues which result from them in such a way that they become absurd, even hilarious, which is therefore entertaining and reaches a wide audience.”, with satire being a way to reach large audiences due to it’s entertainment value (spanning back to ancient rome and greece) it is an appropriate way to take on a widespread issue such as this. It is also appropriate because advertising is focused on the unconscious parts of the mind, to set a satirical advert next to a real advert would really be the most effective way to demonstrate the issues with advertising in the digital age, to have it blend in stylistically but exaggerate the manipulative techniques adverts use would provoke an audience to recognise the ways in which companies force their branding upon them.
“Satire also has the ability to protect its creator from culpability for criticism, because it is implied rather than overtly stated; in this way, it becomes a powerful tool for dissenters in difficult or oppressive political and social periods.”. Many companies have PR firms that create the image that companies care about social issues and to attack them for it directly could cause complexities to arise around the sensitivity towards the social cause whereas to approach it from a satirical avenue and create a commercial from the point of view of the company shifts the focus onto the companies actions rather than potentially damaging the causes.
Gibson Owen, The Guardian, 2005
Curtis, Adam, “The Century Of The Self”, 2002
LeBoeuf, Megan, “The Power of Ridicule: An Analysis of Satire” (2007). Senior Honors Projects. Paper 63.