I have been doing a bit of ‘noticing’ media since it was first brought up in a lectorial a few weeks back. It’s an interesting concept and once you start, it becomes hard to stop. When I was thinking about ‘media’, I narrowed in more on advertising in every day life. Things like billboards and posters.

Rachel mentioned today in the lectorial that it’d be smart to talk a bit about media overseas. I’ve travelled to quite a few countries and it’s interesting comparing Melbourne’s media displays in places like the CBD versus those across the world. Compared to something like Times Square (which is, overwhelming to say the least), Melbourne is pretty minimalistic with its media. There’s the occasional digital billboard, but that’s sort of a big deal here. In NYC though – it’s pretty much on every corner – one big colourful advertisement after another. So you can imagine, after wondering around Bourke Street during the lectorial activity, and finding so many little and big things to pick up on – just how widespread that would be in Times Square.

More recently I went to England and found that the Piccadilly Circus area is similar. Wrapped around the buildings there are giant neon billboards with ads playing for things like Coca Cola. Several classic red double decker buses will drive past with advertisement slapped along the body. Different shop radio can be heard from just about every direction – and don’t even get me started on the tube.

Thinking about this also reminded me of a film I really loved as a kid, ‘Josie and the Pussycats’ which integrated a world record amount of advertising and brand dropping into the film – it’s pretty much in every scene – as a kind of irony to the plotline about media monopoly and brainwashing. Take a look at this clip I found from the film.