Man Is The Media.
Branding the non-brand: The Blackspot Unswoosher
June 13th, 2008 by Martin
I just bought a pair of Blackspot boots. You may not have heard of this brand. It’s not a brand; it’s an anti-brand launched by Adbusters, a network of artists, activists and the usual bunch who aim to “topple existing power structures”.
Blackspot took it’s name from the action of erasing the brand of a product by painting a black spot over it. My boots are called the ‘Unswoosher’, which must be interpreted as the nemesis of the ‘Swoosh’, Nike’s famous logo. On the nose they even have a ‘sweet spot’ “for kicking corporate ass”.
Needless to say, I like Adbuster’s work and obviously their product too. There’s certainly no doubt they’re part of the consumer-movement against corporations, as described so captivating in Klein’s hip No Logo, a book I view just as much a handbook in marketing as a call to arms against the extreme forms of the same.
A similar dialectical nature is present when Adbuster’s launch a product. How do they market it? Well, using the exact same tools and channels as those of “existing power structures”. In today’s bombarding media- environment, where attention is the real value being harvested, everything is so loud that even great causes needs marketing too.
And Adbusters does a terrific job at marketing their their product. My shoes came in an eco-cool box with the Blackspot non-logo on it (simply a black spot that looks as if it was created with a pencil). In the box was some really professional material with catchy slogans, pictures and information about the company. I even got a unique ‘shareholder’ ID to so I can ‘join the revolution’, as it were; a web community not unlike the customer communities you see established brands trying hard to create.
Now, I am not taking any ethical issues with Adbusters. Not at all. Their product is great and produced in the greenest way possible (my boots are called ‘The World’s most ethical shoes’ and I’m pretty convinced they are in fact just that’). What I’m saying is that to beat someone at their own (media) game, you have to join that game. To join to conversation you have to start talking (and shout if you have to).
And this is where I often see activist and artists fail. Having worked in the art field, it seems to me that most artists dream of a breakthrough and penetrating the public discourse somehow; but often they are either oblivious of how to do so, or simply against awareness-raising activities that goes beyond the usual press release, because they feel their work should speak for itself.
But good and noncommercial causes do not sell themselves as easily as they used to. The fight for attention is on and competition is fierce. You may not have the budget of the multinationals, but anyone can become a guerrilla marketer, start a website and start practicing what you preach.
That’s why I find it really refreshing to come across an organization like Adbusters that does a hell of a job marketing their products. Quote:
“Encouragingly, over 25,000 people are now wearing Blackspot shoes. Earth-friendly, anti-sweatshop, and cruelty-free.”
In fact, Adbusters are becoming so strong an non-brand that I would actually pay to wear their non-logo.
Now, that’s powerful non-branding for you.
