Advertising Shits in Your Head: Strategies for Resistance

by Vyvian Raoul, Matt Bonner, Josh MacPhee (Introduction)

Advertising Shits in Your Head calls adverts what they are—a powerful means of control through manipulation—and highlights how people across the world are fighting back. It diagnoses the problem and offers practical tips for a DIY remedy. Faced with an ad-saturated world, activists are fighting back, equipped with stencils, printers, high-visibility vests, and utility tools. Their aim is to subvert the adverts that control us. With case studies from both sides of the Atlantic, this book showcases the ways in which small groups of activists are taking on corporations and states at their own propaganda. This international edition includes an illustrated introduction from Josh MacPhee, case studies and interviews with Art in Ad Places, Public Ad Campaign, Resistance Is Female, Brandalism, and Special Patrol Group, plus photography from Luna Park and Jordan Seiler. This is a call-to-arts for a generation raised on adverts. Beginning with a rich and detailed analysis of the pernicious hold advertising has on our lives, the book then moves on to offer practical solutions and guidance on how to subvert the ads. Using a combination of ethnographic research and theoretical analysis, Advertising Shits in Your Head investigates the claims made by subvertising practitioners and shows how they impact their practice.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Psychology

176 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2019

Reviews

[Like_magic · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ok. The introduction was actually fantastic so I thought the book would be better but anyways: the reason I am only giving this two stars is because this book primarily serves to introduce "subvertising" (subverting advertising) to the reader but does not do much else. It downplays the potential negative legal risks that come with being caught "subverting" advertisement or committing acts of vandalism, but recommends that the reader take those actions. Furthermore, using isolated examples in which subvertisers have not been punished does not really make for a compelling argument.

Finally, the author uses many pictures (probably more than 30) to demonstrate subvertising. The problem is that many of these could be construed as bad advertising by the ad maker. It is like this situation: if you have to explain the joke, it's not funny. Similarly, if I cannot tell that someone subverted an ad at first glance, is there any point? The author does make note of this, but again minimizes the impact this might have on the movement.

For what it's worth, I agree that advertising is far too pervasive in our society today but I do not think this book makes a strong case for subverting ads to combat their prevalence.

[Irini · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Advertising is the fuel that is driving this system; it persuades us to buy material possessions in the quest for happiness—but this is only making us unhappy... The goal of advertising then is not the creation of happiness and consumer fulfillment. Instead the purpose and consequence seems to be the creation of a mood of restless dissatisfaction with what we have got and who we are so that we go out and buy more."

Excellent little book.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring! practical!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, easy read and it's a how-to!

[Juniper "burntends on storygraph" · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was looking for some actual sustainable strategies for resisting advertising and this book delivered somewhat (like giving instructions on how to remove a poster from a bus stop advert) but the vast majority of this book was a bunch of art majors sniffing their own farts. Yes, I agree that public space should not allow advertising, and yes I agree that defacing adverts is not vandalism, but this book did nothing as far as enriching my life or teaching me anything about resistance. But it did teach me a whole lot about sniffing my own farts. So thanks, I guess.

[Sarah Bratt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but not super well grounded in theory like I expected. A solid promo and manifesto.

[Quentin Harrison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I try to see both sides of the coin for every argument. This book decides to stick to one narrative: the replacement of outdoor print advertising with their message of removing outdoor print advertising. While not aware of the irony in their agenda by perpetuating their message in the same medium as the corporations that do so, this book only touches on the "how", "who", and "when" rather than the "why". Diving into the psyche of how advertising has mentally affected the people could have benefited the audience, rather than a dedicated chapter of how to break into an advertising box. Pompous characters compare themselves to Rosa Parks, but do not inspire true change. Rather than impose a message of how to get local communities involved in the change, it appears to the author that this can only happen if you get arrested and spark the conversation at a trial. If you are hoping to find insightful points about why advertising can be detrimental to society, this isn't the book for you.

[Kieran Telo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was familiar with quite a lot of the material here from websites, social media, and Strike! magazine (which unfortunately veered too far towards identitarian bourgeois politics and ate itself) but it’s nice to have a good collection of text and images all in one place.

Most of the stuff is great, and I don’t doubt the good intentions and sincerity of the artists, especially the likes of Darren Cullen, but there is an unmistakable hipster privilege threaded through some of this. It’s kind of like how the letraset fanzines gradually morphed into slicker mags and before we knew it we were reading The Face.

But it’s definitely a worthwhile read and the slogan is undeniable.

[MM · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the first half some synthesis of academic literature, and the second half is devoted to case studies about particular subvertising, with lots of pictures of examples.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great intro but I felt that the book was on the shorter side and could have gone more in depth in explaining the reasoning.

[Elena Durey]

Great book

Decent book to inspire ideas and inspiration for further reading on the topics. Will be used as a reference book

[Sarah Karasek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great premise. I learned some stuff. The beginning was especially enjoyable, but as it went on, things just got more and more repetitive. I think an easy fix for this would have been using footnotes instead of end notes. I actually read through the endnotes, straight through, and they were more interesting than a good 50 of pages leading up to them (yes, I know that's not how notes are supposed to be read).

The focus is also, unfortunately, almost entirely on bus stop type ads with a touch of billboards. In other, it's applicable almost strictly in cities. I would have appreciated a little more variety. That said, if you're interested in learning primarily about the organizations this book covers, then it's a great little guide.

[n · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is frustrating, and it really was in need of an editor. Not only because there are occasional mistakes that make sentences absolutely infuriating to read but because an editor would've stopped and been like "You talked about this, can we please elaborate? Perhaps it might make a stronger case."

The introduction was inciting, and it really set the tone. It's unfortunate that the rest of it fell flat and felt largely vague. It also missed key moments to actually go into depth on some of the issues related to subvertising, like a more cohesive discussion on the co-option of street art (namely Banksy, as that was an example).

[Buck Wilde · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 176-page ad for irony. This could have been a pamphlet. Better, it could have been a stencil.

No beef with the message, though. When I'm out in public, I'd much rather be bombarded by art made by individuals for the love of the craft versus art made by Wendy's hip social media team, assuming I need to be bombarded by something. Once we accept the bombarding as inevitable, "subvertising' becomes the yada yada blah blah okay.

Ads are poison. This book is an ad for defacing ads. At least they don't want you to buy anything (except this book).

[Charlie Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars.

A well-constructed manifesto on civil disobedience in the face of the prevalence of advertising, and how to subvert these materials. It contains meaningful guides on how to carry out what it preaches. It did not cover ideological arguments in justification, tending towards the magnetism of rhetoric.

[Maddie Cassidy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book would be more conceptual about how advertising and marketing affects our brains, but it turned out to be specifically about “subvertising” and famous subvertisers - still an interesting read, just not exactly what I was expecting!

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

This book is great if you actually want to do the work of “subvertising.” If you’re more interested in the psychological or social effects of advertising (as I am!) I think you would be better served finding something that is less focused on strategy.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping the essay portion of this book on the deleterious effects of advertising would have been longer/more substantial in comparison to the documentation of various subvertising movements, but it was still educational.

[Holli Gould · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to learn more/see examples of subvertising, then this book is for you. It is a fairly interesting short read, but it mainly addresses subvertising rather than the harmful effects of advertising.

[W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up at the MTL anarchist book fair. The artwork is stellar. I wasn't swayed much by the arguments presented because they were somewhat terse and undeveloped. I do agree that we're inundated with ads. Although I give this 3-stars, I recommend reading it.

[Mary Noorlander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obsessed with combining theory with tangible action, always. DEFACE & REPLACE UR LOCAL ADS IT'S OKAY I'VE LEGALIZED IT <33333333333

[Alex Pruitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and useful information. Plus full of cool pictures

[Michal Szarka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most of the artwork, not so much the text.

[Matt Sokol · Rating 5 out of 5]

inspiring and thought-provoking

[Violet M · Rating 4 out of 5]

a solid book but i found it a touch repetitive in some parts. definitely a worthwhile read though