Loss of Cultural Space

The marketing and advertisement environment in which huge conglomerates spend huge sums to spread brand awareness, identity, and loyalty, has resulted in the usurpation of society's "cultural space." Since the early days of advertising products, first in newspapers, then on radio and television, the evolution into marketing brands, rather than products, has resulted in an assault on our personal and public space, to include billboards on roads and highways and in elevators and restrooms. In addition to this, it has come to include the branding of entire buildings, towns, and resorts; logos and brand names plastered about in schools and on university campuses; the sponsorship of activities and events; logos on clothing, hats and shoes; and brand "hawking" on the part of celebrities and teen heroes. Additional levels of space "branding" include curricula in public schools, internet sites, and partnerships with fast-food chains, as well...