Interview with Alexis Lloyd, creator of AdGenerator, that has been selected as MashUp of the day, on 25th may.
ECO: the AdGenerator is a clear example of what Umberto Eco called ermetic semiotic, that is the semiotic of most of the standard communication language of advertising,that establish a connection, an analogy with all the ideas of the world, and becasue they’re infinite there’s no possibility for the language to reach sense. And so the creator is repaired by any control or verification.What do you think about?
AL:The Ad Generator is a generative artwork that creates fake advertisements in order to explore how advertising uses and manipulates language. Words and semantic structures from real corporate slogans are remixed and randomized to generate invented slogans. These slogans are then paired with related images from Flickr to dynamically generate fake ads. By remixing corporate slogans, The Ad Generator deconstructs how the language of advertising is both powerful, in that it represents real cultural values and desires, and yet simultaneously meaningless in that these ideas have no relationship to the products being sold. In using the Flickr images, the piece explores the relationship between language and image, and how meaning is constructed by the juxtaposition of the two.
Through this process of generative remixing, The Ad Generator directly addresses the way in which advertising plays on the idea of hermetic semiotics — that, in one way or another, everything can be connected with everything else. Our minds want to make connections, and so if we see a slogan like “Savor the Good Life” next to a Cuisinart food processor, we begin to forge an association between the product and the idea. However, this is highly manipulative and problematic, because while the connection can be made in our minds, that does not translate into that connection having any truth in reality. So, by abstracting this process of association into a generative, random process, The Ad Generator reveals the falsehood of advertisements, and encourages viewers to look at advertising with a more critical eye. I hope that this kind of critical perspective will give people more mental freedom and control over their relationship with advertising and their own consumer practices.
ECO: What about ambivalence in the advertising communication? For exampl,e do i’ve to believe a oil company that promotes clean energy?
AL: This is a very complex issue and an important question, especially in this current era. There are corporations that truly do support good social causes, and we in turn can reinforce those practices by “voting with our pocketbooks”. For example, it really does effect change if large numbers of consumers buy from a company that supports good labor practices. However, this kind of intentional and tangible political act is very different from buying a particular brand of fuel for your car because you have some vague notion that the company somehow “feels” more environmentally friendly.
I think a lot of corporations have realized that social and political issues are important to consumers, but they also know that it is very difficult to thoroughly research the details and implications of corporate activity. Therefore, a popular strategy is to create — through advertising campaigns — an “image” of social responsibility. Many consumers then buy particular brands and feel as if they are doing something good, but there may be no substance behind this image. In essence, environmentalism or labor politics become just another ideal being sold that often has no relationship to the reality of the product you are buying or the political actions of the corporation.
ECO: Is contemporary advertising dada?
In a way, yes. The Ad Generator actually draws on a number of Dada techniques, including collage, chance composition, text as art, and the technique of remixing. (These techniques are not only drawn from Dada, but also owe a debt to movements such as Fluxus and the Situationists.) Yet, in using a “Dada” type of approach, the program ends up creating ads that are highly believable as “real” advertisements, so I find that to be a compelling and thought-provoking result.
What I find disturbing about advertising language and semiotics is the disconnection between the big ideas used to sell products and the function of products themselves. So, for example, Volkswagen’s slogan: “Dare to be happy” creates a false parallel in the consumer’s mind between happiness and the purchase of a car. It is this exploitation of our larger, intangible desires and values that makes advertising so effective at manipulation — while you may have enough cars, you will always want more happiness! It is this connection that is created between consumer products and intangible desires that keeps us in an endless cycle of consumerism — where we continue to buy more and more material “stuff” in an effort to achieve happiness, purity, authenticity, youth, beauty, etc. But of course, this is an effort that never really pays off.
