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Adbusters, 1991 - 1997

 File — Box: 3

Comments from Mary Dery

Adbusters is a Canadian anti-consumerism magazine in whose pages I introduced, to founding editor (and ex-ad man) Kalle Lasn and his Canadian readers, the concept of “culture jamming,” which Lasn later made the focus of Adbusters, so much so that detractors—myself among them—called him to account for (wait for the irony) commodifying anti-consumerism (through the “culture jamming”-branded merchandise he peddled). File includes a 1991 letter from the magazine’s managing editor, in response to my NYT article on CJ, asking me to contribute to the magazine, and a follow-up letter from same in response to my response; media critic Carrie McLaren’s critique of Lasn and Adbusters (“Culture Jamming™ Brought to You By Adbusters”); Village Voice advertising critic Leslie Savan’s article about Adbusters; the magazine’s 1997 “environmental calendar,” which features “the year’s best in Subvertising” (“subvertisements,” a term I introduced in the magazine’s pages, are anti-advertisements appropriating the look and language of the ad campaigns they subvert); articles about, and promo materials for, the magazine and its publisher, The Media Foundation.

Dates

  • Creation: 1991 - 1997

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Full Extent

From the Collection: 3.36 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Repository Details

Part of the University of Iowa Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5921
319-335-5900 (Fax)