the status corp

Afro-American Express, 2004Part of Hank Willis Thomas’s Branded series.
Via Bezembinder.

Originally from we make money not art [...]

A few years back, I bought ad space in magazines for Matador. To place an ad, I’d call an ad rep, reserve the space, and send them artwork. Shortly after the ad came out, they’d send me a copy of the ad along with a bill. So I was psyched to see someone making creative use of this system: A guy in Switzerland, pretending to be a representative from Gucci, called up a weekly paper and reserved a two-page spread. He then sent in a fake ad of himself naked from the waist up, flanked by a bottle of Gucci…

Originally
from Stay Free! Daily

by Carrie McLaren

reBlogged

by the status corporation

on Mar 22, 2007, 1:12AM

Cory Doctorow:

Sticker Nation: The Big Book of Subversive Stickers Volume 1 is a new book from Srini Kumar and Disinformation. Srini is the creator of Unamerican.com whose stickers (i.e., I WORSHIP SATAN HA HA HA and BOY DOES HIGH SCHOOL EVER SUCK) are classic Internet schwag. Srini is incredibly prolific, coming up with sticker designs at a prodigious rate — he also operates Sticker Nation, where you can roll your own Unamerican-style stickers.

The book is something I’ve never seen before: 400+ vinyl paper bumper stickers, in sheets, in alphabetical order, bound in a big trade paperback. You get hundreds of Unamerican stickers for $15, ready to peel and stick (along with the hilarious back-cover disclaimer: “Please don’t sticker up public spaces or other people’s property without permission. Use this book with respect for other people’s property or you might get into trouble. We are not going to be held liable for your zany vandalism schemes and you are not a freak property damage robot. Use this book correctly for maximum effect. Thanks for reading, we’re on your side.”)

The Volume 1 in the title suggests that there are more editions to come — I eagerly await them. However, I’d prefer if future editions contained some sheets of small stickers, appropriately sized for laptops, phones, etc — how many bumpers does the average stickerer own?

Link

See also:
New book on kooky counterculture stickers by Srini Kumar

Originally
from Boing Boing

by Cory Doctorow

reBlogged

by the status corporation

on Mar 21, 2007, 5:04PM

Originally
from Culture Jamming IMA

by Laura Chipley

reBlogged

by the status corporation

on Dec 22, 2006, 2:08PM

this ad seems like a culture jam, but it’s an actual ad from the NY times website!

Originally
from Culture Jamming IMA

by snw

reBlogged

by the status corporation

on Dec 2, 2006, 12:53AM

I recently had the greatest night of Texas Style drinks with the Eyebeam fellows. Steve Lambert introduced me to his project Anti-Advertising Agency - and I am an instant fan/supporter/hopeful future collaborator! A great resource, inspiring projects and smart commentary. I know I’ve already added the feed….

Cory Doctorow:
Kyle from One Red Paperclip has successfully traded a paperclip for a house. Kyle started out with a single red paperclip, which he offered for trade, trading up and up all the way to a house in Montreal Saskatchewan.

As reported in earlier editions, Kyle, who for now calls
Montreal home, began by
swapping a red paperclip for
a fish pen; the pen for a door-
knob; the doorknob for a
camping stove, and so on,
and most recently has been
offering a speaking role in an
upcoming movie, “Donna On
Demand”.

Link

(via Waxy)

Originally
from Boing Boing

by noemail@noemail.org (Cory Doctorow)

reBlogged

by the status corporation

on Jul 8, 2006, 10:52AM

Harris Interactive recently released a list of products ranked by brand equity, a measure of the brand’s popularity with US consumers. Here’s the top 10:

1. Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil
2. Ziploc Food Bags
3. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Candy Bars
4. Kleenex Facial Tissues
5. Clorox Bleach
6. WD-40 Spray Lubricant
7. Heinz Ketchup
8. Ziploc Containers
9. Windex Glass Cleaner
10. Campbell’s Soups

Marketing can be a double-edged sword. The companies who manufacture these products have done a fantastic job in marketing these products, so fantastic in some cases that the brand name is in danger of becoming a genericized trademark. From the list above, I routinely use Ziploc, Kleenex, WD-40, and Windex to refer to the generic versions of those products, even though we sometimes use Glad products instead of Ziploc, Puffs instead of Kleenex, or another glass cleaner instead of Windex. If the companies on this list aren’t careful, they could lose the trademarked products that they’ve worked so hard to market so successfully.

Here’s a list of American proprietary eponyms, or brand names that have fallen into general use. Some of the names on the list are so old or in such common use (escalator, popsicle) that I didn’t even know they had been brands. Two current brands I can think of that might be in danger of genericide: iPod and Google. (via rw)

Originally
from kottke.org

reBlogged

by the status corporation

on Jun 23, 2006, 2:59PM

It’s been five years, but Troy, NY was the birthplace of Whirl-Mart. Prompted by a call for foolishness on April Fool’s Day, Andrew Lynn came up with the idea: a group of strangers enter a superstore at a predetermined time and silently walk through the store pushing empty carts. Through this “ritual of [...]

Status Corp’s Commoddities inspired me to make my very own status symbol. In Adbuster’s mashup style, I used the Louis Vuitton logo as the decoration. Ironically, folding it left me wishing for a bigger Bummer-it was hard for me to fold on such a small scale. Next time, I’ll blow it up [...]