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Responding to Banksy’s Advertising Rant

Posted on: March 2nd, 2012 by

Banksy’s verbose missive on advertising – plucked from his books Cut it Out and Wall and Piece – has sure incited the masses. One Boogie commenter asserts that it’s a futile attempt to salvage some street cred in the face of “selling out.” Others see it as more of an ill-contrived rant with a convoluted punchline. Such is the case with Craig Ward, who “stayed up all night” crafting a point-by-point response to Banksy on his blog Words Are Pictures.

The response is quite lengthy, but definitely worth a read. We’ve published some excerpts for you here:

Allow me to say from the offset that I don’t much care for the advertising industry as a whole either, though having worked at several agencies in my career (as a typographer), I’ve done OK out of it. I live in New York these days but when I lived in London I used to see your work all the time. I didn’t ask to see it – in much the same way as you don’t ask to see advertising – and I never much cared for it either.

Now, as far as I see it, the very act of putting your work in the public eye – say on walls, street corners, in alleyways and underpasses etc – is, effectively advertising it by virtue of people being able to see it at all. Exposure is advertising.  And unless I’m much mistaken, the only product you’re selling is yourself.

Another criticism often leveled at advertising is that it steals from artists and plagiarises ideas, where as your work is merely ‘inspired’ by one artist; Blek Le Rat. Which I guess is OK. And the fact that you’ve made a comfortable living from it is also fine. I feel like it’s a convenient irony though that the only people who can now afford to own your work are the ad-land Creative Directors and City boys that you so eagerly rail against, while at the same time selling your own brand of rebellious, anti-establishment cool.

  • Banksy

    cool story bro

    • Anonymous

       This guy is a clown. Keep doing what you are doing.

  • http://twitter.com/MrCraigWard Craig Ward

    It was a cool story until people started calling me a nazi and telling me to go fuck myself and die :) Ah teh internets. Such vitriol!

  • http://cathcam.wordpress.com/ Mark Cathcart

    The problem with the analogy is Banksy is one person, well
    ok, maybe a few. He/they can’t become as pervasive or intrusive as an industry,
    even graffiti as a form of expression can’t. Also irrespective of the
    originality of Banksys’ work, there is no overarching message to it, and that
    certainly wouldn’t be true if you tried to compare all graffiti to advertising.

     

    So, I’m afraid as witty and interesting retort this is, it’s
    confusing the messenger with the message. You don’t have to like Banksy, or his
    “art” in order to get the message. Hasx griffitt or Banksy
    “taking the piss out of you everyday”, does it “leer at you from
    tall buildings and make you feel small” has it made “flippant comments
    from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening
    somewhere else” and does your girlfriend “feel inadequate: as a
    result of seeing it on TV?

  • http://cathcam.wordpress.com/ Mark Cathcart

    This is worth reviewing as part of this discussion. 
    http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/think_of_me_as_evil.pdf

  • Clayton Patterson

    a good discussion going on here- one of the best have read in some time- thoughtful writers from both sides.  

  • Xepo

    Seriously?  Ad Hominem much?

  • David

    I sheepishly admit I was thinking of Shepard instead of Banksy when I made my comment originally.  I think Banksy (while both good) is amazing!  Exit through the gift shop is a must see!

  • Cody

    I thought the focus of banksy’s statement was on the illegality of “editing” adverts. And how that illegality is debilitating to our psyche when these intrusive ads constantly pummel us. I thought that he was saying we should all have a say in our day-to-day sights by the having the right to change them despite income inequality. I don’t see an explicit proclamation of his own work as morally superior to adverts; as the author of the retort says is the only theme of banksy’s statement.

  • Calwhite

    banksy sux

  • http://twitter.com/nintie 9O

    hey friend :)

    So I guess you are done with all of you ad crap for the day and decided to look for another way to rub your lil ego? Fine with me!

    Problem is with people though – they buy your crap! :) Which is why comments are sooo awsome.

    Since you lack any research on the topic, I will do it for you and your readers :)

     - BANKSY did NOT get “inspired” by Le Rat – Le Rat did only specific type of rats. That’s it. Le Rat, nor Banksy, wants to CLAIM or COPYRIGHT the rat as an animal or symbol.

    - BANKSY was a political artist concept-wise even in his pre-stencil period. His problem with Graffiti was that he would take a long time and get caught all the time. One night, as he was hiding under a truck thinkin “I’ve gotta become faster somehow” he saw a stencil plate on the truck’s parts, staring him 10cm away from his face. And then he switched to stencils, since they let him do the detailed work at peace and then strike quick – which is an even bigger deal as in 2002/3 he started bombing in London.

    - The cut out from the book that everyone is excited about exists for almost 10 years now. Did you REALLY find out about Now? … waaw… good for you, man! :)

    By the way, that night when Banksy was hiding under the truck – he attempted train bombing where he wanted to write in huge bold type – LATE AGAIN on the train :)

    Good luck in the ad world, I think its best for you to stay in it, really fits your intelligence! :)))

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