virus: MEME UPDATE #10: CULTURE JAMMING

Richard Brodie (RBrodie@brodietech.com)
Wed, 9 Jul 1997 14:28:49 -0700


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This is Richard Brodie's Meme Update Newsletter. To
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Richard Brodie is the author of the first and best-selling book on
memetics, VIRUS OF THE MIND. VIRUS OF THE MIND is in its third printing
and spent over six months on the Amazon.com best-seller list! Start
reading VIRUS OF THE MIND on-line, for FREE, at
http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/votm.htm.
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CULTURE JAMMING

A billboard near Seattle's Pike Place Market shows the familiar Joe
Camel character, his elongated face drawn and sad, sitting in a
hospital bed with intravenous tubes hanging down into his arm. The logo
reads: JOE CHEMO.

This billboard, also available as a T-shirt from the publishers of
Adbusters magazine, is an example of "culture jamming." Culture jamming
is the deliberate creation of negative associations with existing
images -- throwing a monkey wrench in the works of Madison Avenue's
manipulative machinery.

Adbusters (http://www.adbusters.org) is the pioneer of culture jamming.
Evolved from an amateurish "zine," Adbusters is now a slick, full-color
quarterly source for culture jamming tips sprinkled with beautifully
produced fake ads. Absolut Vodka and Calvin Klein are favorite targets,
and the jamming is so effective that you will likely never look upon
another ad by those companies without harkening back to Adbusters
satire.

Is culture jamming effective at creating social change? I don't know.
But the interesting thing is the shift in approach from ineffective
whining about corporate irresponsibility to actually mutating the memes
that these behemoths spawn to manage public opinion. Humor has always
been an effective way to reach people, and skewering the sacred cows of
these multibillion-dollar ad campaigns tickles me in just the right
place.

MEMETICS DATA

Here are the number of hits for various words on the World Wide Web as
of 7/9/97, courtesy of Infoseek. The previous count, from 2/10/97, is
included as a reference point. Words are sorted by percent increase
over last sampling.

7/9/97 2/10/97 %increase word
429,866 339,558 26.6% sex
585,793 490,656 19.4% Microsoft
1,118,455 942,469 18.7% love
1,249,974 1,057,284 18.2% music
836,252 709,810 17.8% food
1,215,574 1,044,023 16.4% opportunity
34,845 31,010 12.3% Darwin
182,739 163,450 11.8% virus
200,383 180,174 11.2% danger
6,183 5,583 10.7% Brodie
6,409 5,827 10.0% Dawkins
2,596,611 2,436,866 6.6% science
1,419 1,376 3.1% memetics

As expected, sex in increasing faster than any other word. The
Microsoft mind virus is doing very well, but science and memetics could
clearly use some help. Why not put something about memes up on YOUR web
page?

JAPANESE RIGHTS TO "VIRUS OF THE MIND" SOLD

The Japanese rights to VIRUS OF THE MIND have been sold, making
Japanese the third language the book will be published in (Polish was
the second). Negotiations are currently underway for Italian and Korean
rights.

Look for the Polish edition very soon, and the Japanese edition within
two years.

MEME OF THE DAY

Blueberry Jelly Bellies were created especially for Ronald Reagan.

EVENTS

Richard Brodie delivers keynote and other addresses for a variety of
private and public audiences. If you are interested in having Richard
Brodie speak to your group, please call his office at 425-688-8600.

The following events are open to the public:

September 18, 1997
Richard Brodie will speak as part of the 1997 Speaker Series on
"creating a culture of meaning" at the Center for the Evolution of
Culture in Palo Alto, California from 8-9:30 p.m. including Q&A. For
tickets and information, contact the Foundation for Global Community at
415-328-7756. http://www.globalcommunity.org

All the best memes,

Richard Brodie RBrodie@brodietech.com +1.425.688.8600
CEO, Brodie Technology Group, Inc., Bellevue, WA, USA
Author, VIRUS OF THE MIND: The New Science of the Meme
Visit Meme Central: http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/meme.htm

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