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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Adbuster: Big Yellow


Adverts are designed to infiltrate your life and influence your habits and decisions. Prefer this brand to that and buy this not that. Adverts are at the vanguard of consumerism.



So what do we make of this? There's a tide of stuff flowing into your house, toys, goods, furniture stuff? This advert offers a solution. Sell some of it? Give some away? Buy less? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. Instead pay for more space, box up your stuff and put it in bigger box looked after by Big Yellow.

Why would people do this? Because our identity becomes wrapped up in our stuff, to get rid of our stuff means that somehow we are lessened, diminished and it forces us to face up to the pointlessness of trying to purchase meaning. In contrast Jesus said, 'a person's life does not consist in the abundance of their possesssions'. (Lk 12:15)

2 comments:

David Dominguez on 16 July 2008 at 07:23 said...

I love the verse you quoted, and I love the liberating feeling of getting rid of stuff at a garage sale. (Of course, it always makes me wonder how I let the tide of stuff back into my house.)

Phil Whittall on 16 July 2008 at 09:52 said...

It's just such a clear reminder to us of our priorities. It's so easy to accumulate and actually harder NOT to buy more stuff. How crazy is that? Thanks for your comment.

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