Main goal for the presentation is to display all information in a simple but fun way. Using primary and secondary colored backgrounds.

According to Steven Heller underground often times becomes mainstreams, or you could say that mainstream takes what was originally underground and turns it into mainstream due to commercialization. The “Moldy Whopper” by Burger King mainstreamed the underground, showing the ugliness of real food. Most, if not all, food commercials show beautiful, tasty, appetizing ingredients and dishes to attract viewers into buying their product. We are in a digital visual consumerism age where people don’t read anymore, so capturing the interest of the viewer with as little text as possible and interesting imagery is vital to the success of an advertising. The Moldy Whopper creates the same effect with the opposite. By showing a molding burger, Burger King attracts attention, creates reaction and disgust, in order to spark interest in the viewers. And it worked. Burger King saw a 14% increase in sales, and 88% positive neutral.

Adobe UK. “Adobe Presents: D&AD – Behind the Work: Moldy Whopper”, Adobe UK YouTube, 1 July 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAOI_kW5dGs&t=1524s

Swant, Marty. “Burger King CMO Fernando Machado Says Moldy Whopper Ads Show The ‘Beauty Of Real Food’ Without Preservatives.” Forbes.com, 20 February 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/martyswant/2020/02/20/moldy-whopper-ads-show-the-beauty-of-real-food-says-burger-king-cmo-fernando-machado/?sh=44611a734789.

Sullivan, Luke and Edward Boches. Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads 5^th Ed. Wiley & Sons, 2016.­­­

Guilbeault, Douglas. “DIGITAL MARKETING IN THE DISINFORMATION AGE.” Journal of International Affairs, vol. 71, no. 1.5, 2018, pp. 33–42. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26508116.  Accessed 2 Dec. 2020.

Media and technology are the fruition of human evolution. They give us tools to accomplish tasks related to our survival. From survival, technology has evolved to give us leisure and relax, such as with television. Behind the scenes there are people and companies working hard to sell products to the public, in order to make a profit. However, it is far too easy to overshoot for profit and create technologies that are hazardous to people. It could be something as simple as Aunt Jemima’s portrayal of racial stereotypes that hurt the Black community, so something far worse such as nuclear weapons. Before publishing a work, designers should stop and think about the consequences and effects their design could generate. A same idea could be perceived differently depending on the media of distribution. Unforcedly, I think that because of racism, religion, politics, and cultural differences, not all designers can and will think or care about the consequences of their work.

According to Steven Heller, the concept of mainstream vs underground is relevant in contemporary design because now, designers just follow current trends. For example, Steven Heller says “Today, designers for mainstream advertising companies, weaned on alternative approaches, have folded the underground into the mainstream and call it “cool.” This example shows many “underground” has been brought back and people thing its cool. People often just follow the trends that happen around the world, if others think its cool, then you’ll think its cool too. Designers is taking underground ideas and adding onto it and changing it up to become another idea.

My designer I chose was Jeff Koons, he fits into mainstream because most of his work is based of everyday objects. The artwork was called “Puppy”, it is created to be caught up with the current world events. Puppy is coated with flowers and changes according to the season. Ever since covid took over the world everyone had to wear a mask and to keep up with the things happening around the world, Puppy got a mask too!

Puppy was built based off a design of formal gardens of the 18th-century and items like Chia Pets. Although Chia Pets were seen in the 2000, Jeff Koons combined two ideas from the early years into one and created something that is kept up with the world. As time goes by, Puppy will move along with us. Just like a real dog, Puppy gets taken care of.

Saltz J. When the Low Went Very High. New York. 2009;42(42):62-64. Accessed December 2, 2020.

Smith R. A New Dog in Town, Steel and Sprouting. New York Times. June 8, 2000.
Accessed December 2, 2020.

Zulaika, Joseba. “In Love with Puppy: Flowers, Architecture, Art, and the Art of Irony.” International Journal of Iberian Studies, vol. 16, no. 3, Oct. 2003, pp. 145–158. EBSCOhost,