Instagram? More Like Adstagram!

When Instagram, or Facebook, whoever you want to point your finger at, announced that any photo uploaded to Instagram was legally theirs to use, users sort of freaked out. I suppose it had something to do with their photos being used for advertising or whatever without them seeing a buck of royalty. I get that.

What I don’t get is that once again, panties are in a bunch, fists are raised up in revolt, and threats of leaving Instagram are coming out. This time it’s over advertising.

That’s right. Instagram is beginning to advertise right on the app itself alongside all the selfies and over filtered images. Fortunately for us Canadians, were safe from being exposed to such filth for the time being. It’s the Americans who are the test dummies.

Anyone over the age of 18 in the U.S. of A. will be targeted by ads. And with the way web advertising has been moving lately, ads will be targeted specifically to certain users. By the photos you like, the photos you take, and what you’ve got hash tagged to them will all reflect on how Instagram will plan their ads. Facebook will be in on it too of course. Since Instagram users have their Facebooks connected to the app (at least I do) liked pages and the lot will too impact on how you’re targeted. Go ahead feel special.

From what I’ve seen so far, which is one promoted pic by Instagram itself that I punked from another blog, this doesn’t seem so bad. Maybe, and this isn’t a fact, half of Instagram users take nice photographs. You know, like a real-life photographer might. The other half (which I’ll admit I’m part of) are poorly lit, grainy, pictures slapped with a filter.

So why are well-made photographs that just so happen to have some sort of message or call to action such a bad thing? These ads will be made for you. That’s right. You there, sliding through pictures by people you don’t really like, don’t really know, and don’t really care about. These ads will get to your level, relate to you, and show you things you like, want and need. And most important of all, to get rid of them, all you need to do is flick by it like it’s a mosquito on your arm.

You don’t need to like these photos, you don’t need to share these photos. They’re there because companies you know and love want to pay money to get your attention and to tell you something they think you’d like to know. It might not seem like it, but maybe they kind of do care a little about you sort of. After all, Instagram is free. They can advertise all they want.

Advertising and Banksy

There was an image floating around the Internet. It was last spring, if I remember correctly. The image shows a diamond encrusted skull (I don’t recognize the relevance, but any how) and a quote delivered by the anonymous Bristol graffiti artist Banksy. The quote reads: The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists. Modern art is a disaster area. Never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little.

That statement kind of riles me up. It does so because I’m sort of offended. Not as an artist (I’ve painted pictures, and written music and written stories, so I’m an artist, right?), as someone in the ad industry. Well, I’m not there yet, but I’m getting there! 

Unfortunately, in the economical world we’re living in today, there’s really no room to be an artist. And for the creative and young people Banksy is talking about, making a living in the art industry (whatever that exactly may be) isn’t easy. You’ll be a starving musician, an unpublished writer, a humble finger painter whose work won’t sell.

Until their big break comes, the only thing left for them to do, besides eating a whole lot of ramen noodles, is express themselves. But who’s listening? Doesn’t expressing yourself only count if you have an audience that isn’t necessarily just your friends and family trying to support you along the way?

Advertising allows these creative kids to express themselves with the skills they have to a listening audience. Big Bad corporate companies don’t just come to advertisers with a message they want to deliver. They come to advertisers with a problem that they see needs to be resolved. And from then on, the ambitious, creative, hard working people use their creative minds together to resolve that problem. But there’s a catch. That problem has to be resolved in a specific set of boundaries, set by advertising regulations, by the company itself, and by what’s fit to be seen by the designated audience. For an ordinary person, that’s no easy task. For the creative person, that’s still no easy task, but they’re the best for the job.

For the most part, art holds no boundaries. Artists can say what they want, how they want, any time they want. That’s rather easy for the ordinary person; it’s still the creative people that are doing it well.

A definition of art tells: Art is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. That sounds like a well-executed ad. Something that looks good to the eye, possesses creativity, imagination, and holds an emotional power that engages and delights the audiences. Sounds like art to me.

Place That Product

I’m no movie buff. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve gone out of my way to watch one. It wasn’t long ago that I finally decided who my favourite director or producer would be. I don’t even believe in favourites.

If I had to pick, the competitors for the honour would be Quentin Tarantino or Judd Apatow. They’re both great writers and they make me laugh. Two qualities that you need to get me to watch your movies. I’m not going to get into movies though. I’m going to get into the ads in movies, and one in particular that people were complaining over.

There is some obvious product placement in Apatow’s later flick This is 40. Unlike Tarantino, Apatow is always throwing popular products into his films, with the exception of Pulp Fiction, where Vincent and Jules discus the metric system and McDonalds’ Royal With Cheese.

I can’t admit being totally enthralled with This is 40, and it appears very few were. It made me howl, but the story didn’t go anywhere and carried on way too long.

The general audience was a bit annoyed with the amount of product placement. Like they shouldn’t be bombarded with in-movie ads when they paid good money for a ticket.

Throughout the movie, Apple was a main character. He was on everyone’s phone, computer and tablet. Everyone wants to hate Apple. Don’t act like you’ve never sat on the toilet for too long playing Scrabble. Isn’t that lovely? A nice little compelling truth brought to you by the Apple iPad 5, with a stunning 9.7-inch display and over 3.1 million pixels. Perfect for long shits.

And like any Apple family, they aren’t going to stop with the tablet. They have the whole shebang, so don’t get upset when they’re talking on their iPhone about their iPhone. It’s how we talk. No one says mobile device anymore. “Have you seen my Android?”

Apatow brings the movie to life with these known products and brands. There’s Casio, Infiniti, Nike and Livestrong, Altoids, and Oreos. I don’t think he’s being ironic, I think he really just likes Oreos. And that’s not even half of them. But we all use these brands. It allows us consumers to connect with both the characters and the brands. We want to feel apart of it. I don’t want to watch a movie and notice the lame, mock Coke can on set. Get the real thing! There’s even some promotion for Graham Parker & The Rumor’s latest album Three Chord Good. I’ve never seen that in a movie, and you’ve got to appreciate it.

So when a movie is about a suburban family living in L.A. they better have iPhones and iMacs. They better drive a Lexus and they better complain about their husbands using Viagra and Lost being over. And if Paul Rudd didn’t increase tight bike shirt sales, I don’t know what will.

Since the dawn of advertising, surely there's always been someone who made a fuss. "They're brainwashing us!" they might say. Today, these people are everywhere. Is it because ads get in the way of their daytime television? Or car dealership ads flood airwaves during the morning trek? Even I'm anti-dealership ads. But the problem I want to address is that these anti-ad people are blaming the industry. Do you believe that? The same industry I talk about everyday. The one that my professors insist is so fun and exciting. Don't worry, I feel the same way.

I don't feel the blame should be directed at the industry. It seems like a cop-out. These anti-ad people are anti-consumer people. They believe being a consumer is a negative thing. Let's get real. If you see ads it's because you're a consumer. You see them on your T.V. because you're a consumer. You see them on the net because you're a consumer. They seem them on the street when they step out for a smoke. An anti-ad person doesn't want to blame the company. They consume the company!

I remember in my first year of college. Me and a few others had been invited to a second year ad party. How intimidating. There was an anti-ad guy there. Clearly he had no business at this party. He was ranting to whoever would listen about how the advertising industry over the years has changed the way people consumer, and how it creates super-consumers. He often paused his rant to drag from his cigarette and sip from his beer.

He wasn't far off though. We are super-consumers. This isn't 1953. When we see an ad we aren't immediately sold. We can often see through the bullshit. We've been trained to know what we want and need, and need more than one product and one ad to tell us that, and advertisers know this.