Just Jammin’

Culture jamming aka “guerrilla communication” has become a key tactic for several activist groups who aim to ambush media culture and its mainstream cultural institutions, including corporate advertising. Although activist groups are commonly treated as external publics to organizations, they are also public relations actors themselves.

There are many examples of cultural jamming, but in my opinion, one of the best is from a group known as the Barbie Liberation Organization (BLO) who pranked Mattel and switched the voice chips of G.I. Joe and Barbie to make a point on gender stereotypes causing Barbie to shout, ‘Eat lead, Cobra!’ while G.I. Joe gently said, ‘Let’s plan our dream wedding!’. 

Another one is Banksy’s culture jamming of Disneyland with his interpretation of “Dismaland” 

But, is culture jamming a hit-and-run tactic, or does it actually work as a strategy to initiate conversations and encourage people to think further on certain topics?

A content analysis of the culture jamming of Victoria’s Secret by feminist activist organization FORCE gives valuable evidence that this tactic is definitely a conversation starter specially when using social media for it. The activist group targeted this brand because of its market of young girls and past products that included underwear with phrases such as ‘Unwrap Me’, ‘No Peeking’, and ‘Sure Thing’ on it, which were viewed as disempowering to women’s sexual agency and promoting access to women’s bodies without consent.

A crucial point this article makes is the importance of social media when culture jamming. The article demonstrates that social media afforded activists the ability to speak directly to the organization and gave people the opportunity to think for themselves, criticize the status-quo, and use social media for progressive change (Madden, 2018). Due to the activity in social media, FORCE created an army of loyal followers that got the ball rolling on online conversations. 

To keep in mind…

For me, this article shows that cultural jamming is a slap in the face to a mass society and culture…  maybe even more. The use of social media for it to have a greater impact is essential. The more the merrier. And, following FORCE’s example, the use of a unique hashtag, to secure an “eternal” presence on the internet should be considered for future support and activist work.