The names have been changed to protect the guilty
author:
Beigbeder is a french "intellectual"
he used to work as an advertising executive at Young and Rubicam until he got fired after (for) publishing his "99 Francs". Now he's a writer and a publisher. He can lately be seen on Michel Drucker's show on Canal+, Le Grand Journal.
book:
99 Francs is a slightly autobiographical slightly fictional novel (a new genre i just invented) in which Beigbeder tries to point out, cynically, the illnesses of advertising. The ending is a little bit overstretched, but the reading is quite intersting.
ramblings:
Now i'm not going to review the book, i wanted to point out some intersting stuff i read.
This isn't the first anti advertising pamphlet i come about. Several Indymedias, NGOs and blogs shout it quite loud.
Advertising is everywhere and is presented as necessary per se. As is the ambient cosumption that is supposed to make economy turn round (Keynes?).
I have very few knowledge of economics, what i know is that people are invited to become cosumerists. People are invited to buy and they often buy stuff they don't need (the garbage bag) stuff they were made to think they need but they don't really need.
I always thaught and still think that free will exists, and that an advertisement is not the main criteria on wich i base my definition of happiness. But is it really true? it is said that we are subject to 350000 advertisement between birth and our 18 year birthday. The figures are overwhelming, how can i really talk about free will if my favourite chocolate bar has always been kit kat. and this goes as far as i can remember. Is it because i love it or was it because of an advertisement i saw when i was 3 years old.
Somwhere in the begining of the book : "Tout s'achète : l'amour, l'art, la planète Terre, vous, moi." And this can be so true, mnedfa3 7a2o, mnishteri. Advertisement became the new world order and if we wish this to be revoked, for a whole new order to be, a world order of social justice where the average american (or french or german or canadian or lebanese) does not cosume more than 9 average chinese (or nepali or...).
Until then ...
(thanx Amal for your drawing inspired the following)
postface:
...يا عمال العالم
Have a break...
Have a Kit Kat.
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