13th May

 Adbusters

Conservative- keeping things the same 

Progressive- everchanging 

Adbusters does not easily fit into a genre.

-Political 

-Visual arts and photography

-Culture jamming

Taking something and putting it into a context

Unconventional and lacks context 

Takes a highly confrontational and unpleasant mode of address

Adbusters Front Cover;

- Militaristic connotations

- Grainy and sandy

- Masthead slightly covered by image

- Middle-Eastern man-possible terrorism connotations

- Fist clenched- aggressive 

- 'Post-West'  Signifies war or colonisation 

- Adbusters adopts a polysemic reading

Adbusters presents a deliberately confrontational mode of address which is emphasised through its total lack of anchorage. The MES of the costume of the cover models costume has militaristic connotations due to the camouflage colours and utility pockets. This has significant connotations of war, death and threat which are potentially alarming to the target audience. 

Unconventional positioning of the masthead creates a confusing and atypical layout for the target audience. By changing the masthead every issue Adbusters not only lacks consistency but also lacks brand identity. Adbusters brand identity is trashy, confusing and contradictory. By changing the masthead every issue, the magazine is committing serious financial risk. Adbusters presents an anti capitalist , nonprofit ideology which goes against hegemonic capitalist ideas in our society.

Not for profit, makes enough money to keep making the magazine. 

Adbusters presents a a progressive range of ideologies and a desire to change society. This is symbolic coded through the constantly changing house style of the magazine. Adbusters asks the audience to reject capitalism and brands and hegemonic convention. 

Adbusters is complicated, challenging, atypical deliberately confrontational polysemic.

The MES of the brown dirt covering the model and the masthead. Some audiences will code this as mud. Other audiences may see this as film grain, which has conventions of damage and age and general degradation. However the front cover is a actually and attempt to make the front cover look badly and cheaply printed which obscures several key elements. This may simply be a way to provide a unique selling point. However, this cheap looking printing also constructs a deliberately trashy punk ideology that challenges the viewers expectations of how a magazine should be printed. Additionally it reminds the audience that we live in a dangerous, complicated and dirty world filled with danger.

The cover model is screaming towards the audience in an angry and direct mode of address. This further anchors the magazines confrontational status. Additionally the combination of the middle eastern man, combined with the lack of anchorage constructs a stereotypical terrorist. By forcing the audience through the lack of anchorage to come a stereotype and even racist conclusions in positioning leads to an uncomfortable and unpleasant mode of address. 

The main and only cover line is 'Post-West'. By using the word 'west' the producer is othering language that forces the audience to confront their prejudices.  One interpretation is that it refers to the end of the Western world. This is highly confrontational and extremely unpleasant. 

We live in a confusing and difficult to understand world.

Adbusters presents nihilistic ideology to its target audience

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