Saturday, June 28, 2014

Cry Freedom!

geoffff

On the matter of subliminal images.

I can't get this post out of my mind. Sort of. 

I guess that's what they mean by subliminal.

Do we even know what we are up against? When it has become good for big business in a global market to hate and fear Israel and the Jews then the world is on the brink. 

The oil companies were bad enough and probably still are. But this is something different. 

This is not something out of a single industry whose strategic interests were pretty much on the table for those who cared to look. Nor did it involve any suggestion of messing with people's minds beyond what comes with wielding enormous strategic power.

I have no doubt at all about the power of the abstract on the mind. Both with words and images.

It prompted this post that I cross post now. It features a video posted by Martin Leaf. As Mike said, a very interesting fella. 


What exactly?
Over at friend blog Israel Thrives there was a brief discussion over whether an extended Nike ad made for the World Cup used a subliminal or even overt appeal to base racism to sell their Asian sweatshop extruded products to the violently racist and especially antisemitic market that happens to be a major focus of this huge multinational's top line business plan.

No way says Mike L and whatever Mike says should be heard with respect is what I say. Mull it over before you disagree.  Mike is dead set wrong says some other guy and I get the feel the consensus is there is something sinister about the use of this image by a thoroughly and expertly informed corporation  as the spearhead of the marketing kick off of its brand at the World Cup. 

notantisemitism
No Jews here. Do you want us to drop our pants to prove it?

Such a carefully thought through and strategically critical stand for a global brand to take. Can you imagine how much they spent to come up with this? How much research went into it. Do you really think they did it by mistake? 

As subliminal messages go I much prefer this one. It was a great gig for Che Gorilla who has been down in the jowl a little lately after being banned by The Conversation for being rude and anonymous.




This is the song of the national liberation movement of the gorillas. The song of all primates really. Chocolate and freedom! Long may they rule.

hat tip Martin Leaf

4 comments:

  1. Geoffff, you are a good man, but sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

    I am not going to go down this road.

    Subliminal messages?

    You guys are more than welcome to discuss these questions here, but this represents a line that I am no prepared to cross. That may reflect my lack of education on the subject, but until I satisfy myself that I can reasonably speak on the topic, I think that I will remain silent.

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    1. I already sent my letter of protest to Nike. With all the reviews that an ad like this goes through, they should have been aware of the Jewish star in the soccer ball and I feel they were. Either it was intentional, or they just didn't care.

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  2. And this is why you are one of my favorites!

    You crack me up, Trudy.

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  3. Anyway I'm not sure what can be done about it other than send subliminal messages right back at them!

    I'm not sure subliminal is the right word but it is a common enough marketing technique.


    One of the early Superman movies featured background flashes of a particular global cigarette brand. Marlboro I guess. On a billboard in the background in a scene when Superman rescues Lois and flies off with her, . A packet on a table in a restaurant with Lois and Clark. On a racing car. That sort of thing.

    The film had been produced to pick up these images and you can be certain it was under a contract with the cigarette company that owns the brand. These things do not happen by accident. And the company would only pay for this if it calculated that it could shove more of its product into the global market that it shares with Superman movies.

    .

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