During the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference hosted in Paris, a subversive environmentalist group named Brandalism performed an "ad takeover." The purpose of their campaign was to highlight and criticize the negative environmental impacts made by large corporations. Brandalism used sarcasm to convey this purpose to their audiences, the general public of Paris and the globe. Their ad takeover included around 600 posters installed around the city focusing on different brands.
From afar, these ads appear to be normal displays for companies; however, upon closer examination, they criticize the non-action taken by corporations. The hypophora, "Tackling climate change?" is answered sarcastically with, "Of course not. We're an airline." In a smaller explanation, the ad reads, "We're sponsoring the UN climate conference so we look like we're part of the solution and to make sure our profits aren't affected." The expectation is for readers to be indignant about the airline's disingenuous actions and also to expose the more selfish motivations of corporations. When the ad jokes, "Economic growth is far more important than saving the planet," readers are supposed to disagree and view the corporation as an antagonist to climate change. The vertical progression of text from top to bottom parallels the progression of severity - from simply non-action to being "part of the problem." As the reader lingers on the ad, they feel increasingly cheated and lied to by the corporation.
Brandalism's efforts are clever by disguising their messages in everyday imagery and locations with which people are familiar. Although the ads make use of humor and sarcasm, they contain serious accusations against corporations. Hopefully, this makes readers more receptive to the messages Brandalism is sending. Furthermore, their methods are clever enough to make passersby consider the message for much longer than a few seconds.
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