In “Culture Jamming”, Mark Dery discusses “billboard banditry”, the at of defacing billboard ads with graffiti for the sake of anti-promoting. Dery mentions the agitprop collectives Artfux who accompany New York artist Ron English on a day of billboard banditry in Manhattan. One of the altered billboards read “Drink Coca-Cola–It Makes You Fart.” This image that reads “Coca-Cola–It Tastes Like Shit” reminds me of that detournament as it equally snipes at the company and its primary drink.
The third subtopic of Culture Jamming discusses “guerrilla semiotics.” This is a technique that uses signs and symbols to communicate gestures, images, sounds, and objects in society. Dery mentions how subliminal advertisement has become a part of American capitalism, and one of the ads discussed is of Ritz crackers with the word ‘SEX’ written on the surface as seen in the picture below. The image claims that the word ‘SEX’ is embedded on the design of common Ritz crackers purposely as a way to sell the crackers.
In Seattle, a trio known as SSS altered a Kent cigarettes billboard that read “Hollywood Bowled Over By Kent III Taste!” and changed it to “Hollywood Bowled Over By Neutron Bomb!” The reworking of the billboard was inspired by a newsflash at the time that plans were underway to begin producing neutron bombs. The trio replace the cigarette pack with a portrait of then-President Ronald Regan for what one can imagine as a representation of government power and control of said bombs.
