Adbusters

Question 1

Where is Adbusters from?

Answer 1

Canada

Question 2

When was it founded?

Answer 2

1989

Question 3

Who is it made by?

Answer 3

Lasn and Schmalz (film makers)

Question 4

How many publications are there per month and where are they?

Answer 4

2 in the US, Canada, Australia and the U.K.

Question 5

What are the key values that the magazine communicates?

Answer 5

Pro-environment

Opposes capitalism and consumerism

Question 6

Is the magazine made for profit?

Answer 6

No, it is a non- profit magazine made for creating awareness

Question 7

What is a subvertisement?

Answer 7

A spoof of parody of advertisements

Question 8

What is Adbusters trying to criticise by having the Osasco article next to the Zuchetti advert in the set magazine?

Answer 8

Divide between poor and rich
Consumerism in capitalist counties - do we really need expensive taps when some people don’t have water at all?
The ignorance do wealthy counties - they are unaware of other people’s situations

Question 9

What is the Osasco article about?

Answer 9

The lack of water in Brazil

Question 10

What is the Zuchetti advert promoting?

Answer 10

A bathroom tap

= luxury

Question 11

What is the significance of the personification of the tap in the Zuchetti advert?

Answer 11

‘HIM’ = makes tap seem important in your life

Doesn’t actually/ physically do anything so has to be advertised in a way that engages your emotions

Question 12

Who said this?

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

Answer 12

Blaise Pascal

A 16th Century French Philosopher

Question 13

What does Pascal’s quote suggest about the targeted audience?

Answer 13

They are educated and would understand that the quote is dated yet still relevant to humanity

Question 14

What does Pascal’s quote mean?

Answer 14

People can’t just sit and reflect, we have to be doing something
Whatever we have, we are never happy with it and want more

Question 15

What is significant about Pascal’s quote being on a plain white page in the magazine?

Answer 15

It stands out because it is blank and boring

Signifies how empty spaces make people uncomfortable like being alone does

Question 16

How does the magazine suggest that technology is taking over our lives?

Answer 16

Drawn image of a person in bed and people at train station being sucked into their phones
The idea that people isolate themselves with technology, implying that the online world is better
No face = identity is online

Question 17

How do the drawn images in the magazine communicate values?

Answer 17

Basic sketch of people = people have no identity, humanity has been erased by technology

Question 18

How does the drawing of the people being sucked into their phones on a train platform convey the magazines opinion towards technology?

Answer 18

Everyone is on their phones even though they are surrounded by people - technology has actually made people less in contact with others
The empty platform symbolises how mankind is always waiting for something

Question 19

How does Adbusters attempt to prompt our consciousness of issues with our modern lifestyle?

Answer 19

Makes us question ourselves and our behaviour

Question 20

What mode of address does the magazine typically use?

Answer 20

‘You’

Addressing society as a whole

Question 21

How does addressing the consumers directly reflect the magazines ideologies?

Answer 21

Activism - raising awareness by directly addressing consumers as the magazine is made to raise awareness not profit

Question 22

Who publishes Adbusters?

Answer 22

Adbusters Media Foundation

Question 23

When was the set edition of Adbusters published?

Answer 23

May/June 2016

Question 24

How much does the magazine cost?

Answer 24

£10.99

Question 25

In April 2017, how many readers did the magazine have on its website?

Answer 25

120,000

Question 26

What genre is the magazine?

Answer 26

Independent/Campaigning/ Culture Jamming

Question 27

What is the ideology/ ethos of Adbusters? 3 things

Answer 27

Being grateful for the world around you rather than what’s on the internet
Giving readers useful information not useless ads
Producing less toxic media

Question 28

The magazine advertises a pair of trainers called ‘Blackspot’, what are the values commnicated by this advert?

Answer 28

Blackspot linked to death, suggesting that the death of our world is near if we don’t become more sustainable
Magazine is about ethics more than profit
The importance of fair trade as the trainers are organic etc

Question 29

What is an example of the magazine subverting consumer culture?

Answer 29

The Blackspot trainers

Question 30

The magazine has a letter page, what is significant about where the letters are coming from?

Answer 30

All the letters are from western societies which is significant because the purpose of the magazine is to bring awareness to the western countries

Question 31

Name three aspects of media language in the feature:

‘The Joy Of Being Advertised Nothing’

Answer 31

Blank space draws attention
Graffiti at the bottom of the billboard is in keeping with the area (Bristol)
Not put together like a conventional advert, it is messy and unprofessional = reinforces the purpose of the advert which is to make people stop focusing on consumerism

Question 32

Which social groups are being represented through the choice of letters included?

Answer 32

Middle class bc of the disposable income needed for the blackspot trainers 
Fear about food poisoning rather than gun violence as Gun violence usually effects lower class minorities

Question 33

What psychographics do the target audience have?

Answer 33

Politically aware, political activists, environmentally friendly lifestyle

Question 34

What demographics would the target audience have?

Answer 34

25 to 35

English speaking