I moved to Warsaw Poland in 1992 for one year of foreign study. The wall had come down 3 years earlier and Poland was quickly transitioning. There were no billboards when I moved there. Nothing. Nada. There might have been the occasional Coca Cola sign on the side of a kiosk but billboards didn't exist.
I distinctly remember when I saw the first billboard in Warsaw. After the first one they just started popping up everywhere, on all the streets. I remember the psychological realization that Poland was now somehow joining in some international conversation. The adverts made me feel less isolated in Poland. But also made me feel small and insignificant. Seeing adverts for the first time in a year, and the first time in my new country, was a catalyst for a psychological reevaluation of my place in the world.
This experience led me to believe that advertising disempowers while also connecting people. And its affect is psychological. Not physical but still profound.
Commerce disempowers while connecting people. Commerce also empowers people while creating or reinforcing social distance. There are different trade-offs.
I distinctly remember when I saw the first billboard in Warsaw. After the first one they just started popping up everywhere, on all the streets. I remember the psychological realization that Poland was now somehow joining in some international conversation. The adverts made me feel less isolated in Poland. But also made me feel small and insignificant. Seeing adverts for the first time in a year, and the first time in my new country, was a catalyst for a psychological reevaluation of my place in the world.
This experience led me to believe that advertising disempowers while also connecting people. And its affect is psychological. Not physical but still profound.