Got a blog tip? Contact us
« Warning Signs | Main | Graffiti fights back »
Today's lesson in corporate cooptation is brought to you by...Secret Antiperspirant.
A little over a year ago, one of the biggest hits in the blog world was a beautifully done mail art project called PostSecret. The organizers asked people to send in postcards bearing their deepest, darkest secrets - and the results ranged from the disturbing to the poignant and the hilarious. The project was so successful that it turned into a book and multiple exhibitions.
You probably already know where I'm going with this. The other day in the subway, I spotted a large poster bearing a "secret" much like the beloved mail art project - but lacking any of the truth or vicarious thrill that made PostSecret so wonderful. I didn't write down the exact wording, but it was something to the effect of: "Sometimes when in public, I'll call my boss just so people know I have a job." The call to action - a headline asking WHAT'S YOUR SECRET? - was clearly the slogan of a new ad campaign.
The first thing that popped into my head upon seeing this ad was not anger or disbelief but a question: Why would you need to call your boss when everyone already knows you're a whore?
Posted by Carrie McLaren on 07/14/2006 | Permalink
Comments
The secret I submitted was I find the corporate cooptation of meaningful art projects profoundly disturbing. I doubt it is going to make it past the screener.
My real secret is that I wish I had crafted a better sentence.
Posted by: Charles Star | Jul 15, 2006 1:34:52 AM
Don't worry, this is just another part of the market joining in the conversation. Ha! What I at times find disturbing about the web is how easily and quickly original work is coopted. And perhaps more sadly, how much of the online community sees corporatization as legitimizing.
Posted by: jbm | Jul 15, 2006 8:25:15 PM
My beef with the original project: I was disturbed that a ridiculously high percentage of the anonymous secret postcards were "designed" in a minimalist, indie-rock way. Don't less self-conscious people have secrets, too?
Posted by: Jack Silbert | Jul 16, 2006 5:46:50 PM
This was originally done by another site before Postsecret--Grouphug. So Secret is just catching the tail end of a fad that's been going on for a while, but will probably thrive more with the marketing dollars behind it.
Posted by: omit | Aug 4, 2006 4:28:58 PM
