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Brandalism
Brandalism is the visual subversion of marketing campaigns and advertisements through parodying or altering them as a form of anti-corporate activism. Brandalism uses methods and terminology from corporate brands to create logos, slogans, and visuals that subvert these brands. The goal of brandalism acts are to satirize a brand's advertisements as a way of making a statement against that brand, with media giants, conglomerates, and advertising moguls being of focus.

Activists engaging in brandalism spoof, parody, and use other methods of message obscuring which are portrayed through the marketing channels of the brands in order to make a statement against the brands themselves that they are targeting. Brandalists - those who commit acts of brandalism - engage in this form of guerrilla art as a method of claiming public space back from corporate control. The mindset that Brandalists operate on is that the corporate world has "polluted" public spaces with advertisements and to reduce this visual pollution, they subvert the messages these advertisements portray. Brandalism also contests the homogenization of societal values that comes with commercial messages in advertising. The nature of brandalism challenges hegemonic corporate forces by using a brand's own marketing strategy to draw a negative conclusion about the said brand.

Successful brandalism includes the mixing of branding signifiers and subvert signifiers which combine to create a new representation; the changing of context of symbols and other branding elements with a revised location that alters the meaning; and the interconnectivity between the visual symbols and the context of their location. The context is altered to create new meaning to communicate. Brandalists replicate this model in their street art activism using the integration of advertising techniques with the values of Brandalists in a subversive platform. The interconnectedness of opposing images and signifiers enable the subversive context.

History
The term "brandalism" is an amalgamation of the words "brand" and "vandalism". The term was coined in 2005 by graffiti artist, Banksy, as a method of using street art that contains visual signifiers that offer a voice representative of the public amidst the number of corporate messages in advertising outlets. Banksy used brandalism as an attack against the overwhelming corporatization of the public sphere - that of which includes schools, libraries, and other public buildings - with advertisements and company logos Through visual aesthetics, Banksy aims to stimulate the visual senses of the public. This visual stimulation seeks to resonate emotionally with his audience and engage them cognitively in regards to political and social issues.. The goal of this movement is to satirize a brand's advertisements as a way of making a statement against that brand, larger companies and conglomerates being of focus. This anti-corporate agenda stems from belief system of consumption as an unsustainable and oppressive system maintained by a global capitalist system. Brandalism seeks to defy societal norms by physically changing visual culture that is exposed to us. The first notable Brandalism act took place in 2012 where 36 advertisements were subvertised across 5 cities in the United Kingdom, involving 28 different artists internationally. The Brandalism movement continued and in 2015 the most widely known act of Brandism occurred during the time of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in which activists replaced bus-stop advertisements with their own artwork. The work of these artists are meant to provide a critique of consumer societies and market-driven corporations as well disrupt dominant media culture

Brandalism Movement
The Brandalism group is an international street art movement that collaboratively challenges consumerist culture and materialism through the subversion of advertising in public places. The collective was founded in 2012 in London when 26 British artists covered billboard advertisements with subverted artworks across 5 different cities. Brandalism initiatives recruit artists worldwide to take action against consumerism and advertisements in public spaces. Their goal is to educate others about consumerism and to act as a vehicle of change towards a more individualistic, and less corporate-controlled public space.

The 48 Sheet 2012 Project
Within 5 cities in the United Kingdom, 35 billboards were replaced with the artwork of 26 international artist. The cities in which the advertisements were switched are Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and London. Brandalists

2014 Bus Stop Ads Project
Throughout the United Kingdom, advertisements in advertising panels were replaced by 365 orginal anti-consumerism art pieces. This act of Brandalism occurred in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Oxford and London.

COP21 2015 Climate Talks Project
Before the launch of COP21 in 2015, volunteers in Paris illegally installed personal artwork that expressed their disapproval of corporate sponsorship of COP21 by large corporations. Bus stop advertisements were replaced by 600 subversive posters parodying the COP21 supporting companies. The group replaced posters from JC Decaux, a widely renowned outdoor advertising firm which sponsored the climate talks. The specific aim of the movement was to challenge the perceived unsustainable consumeristic tendencies these companies practiced. This act of Brandalism took place in Paris during the December 2015 United Nations 21st ‘Conference of Parties’ meeting, asserted to create a global agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Those who engaged in the 2015 COP21 Brandalism project rebelled against the meeting due to its corporate sponsorship as well as the movement's effort to expose corporate greenwashing. The Brandalism group chose this method of protest due to the prohibition of mass gatherings put in place after Paris terrorist attacks. A group member made a statement, "Following the tragic events on 13th of November in Paris, the government has chosen to ban the big civil society mobilizations, but big business events can continue. The multinationals responsible for climate change can keep greenwashing their destructive business models, but the communities directly impacted by them are silenced. It's now more important than ever to call out their lies and speak truth to power."

2016 Switch Slides Project
In October 2016, Brandalism initiatives launched the 'Advertisers Anonymous' program and delivered pamphlets to the workers in the top 25 agencies in creative industries in England. Creative industry workers workers were recruited by Brandalism initiatives to help in providing information for the pamphlet on how industry workers could apply their skills towards sectors benefiting the public. The pamphlets were aimed at enabling industry workers to use their creative talents to better cultural values, as opposed to assisting corporate advertising sectors. The layout of the pamphlet was designed as a subverted Alcoholics Anonymous pamphlet in which an guideline on ‘5 steps to Switching Sides' was outlined as well an invitation to attend an Advertisers Anonymous event in London on November 24, 2016.

2017 Subvertisers International Campaign
In 2016, the Brandalism movement collaborated to found Subvertisers International on May 10th, 2016 with activists across 10 countries worldwide. The collective consisted of members of the following activist groups: Consume Hasta Morir, Le Collectif des Déboulonneurs, Democratic Media Please, Dies Irae, NoAdDay, Vermibus, ContraPublicidad, Public Ad Campaign, Résistance à l’agression Publicitaire, Robert Johnson & Commission AntiPub Nuit Debout, and Special Patrol Group. The project took place on March 22nd, 2017 to March 25th, 2017 over a period of 4 days with a campaign titled #SubvertTheCity. Activists from 18 countries participated in acts to subvert advertisements in public spaces. The point of the campaign was to bring about awareness of social and environmental issues that arise from consumer habits and to encourage others to take action against corporate forces. As with Brandalism's other campaigns, the replacement of advertisements with subverted artworks are meant to encourage people to take an active stance in political life.

Visual pollution
The Brandalism group refers to visual pollution as the bombardment of advertisements, and company brands and logos in public spaces. The group criticizes repetitive commercial messages as a type of mental pollution that disrupts human psyche. The group subverts advertisements as a critique on the messages perpetuated by them and as a way of performing "mental environmentalism."

Environmental
A major aspect of the Brandalism mandate is to criticize the corporations' contribution to pollution and adverse impacts on the environment. The 2015 COP21 climate talks brought about the largest act of revolt from Brandalism. The Brandalism group replaced approximately 600 bus stop advertisements and bilboards with subverted advertisements that placed blame for climate change on various companies and political agendas. Brandalism aimed at bringing awareness to environmentally destructive commercial processes are a form of environmemtal communication. A specific environmental issue that activists contested, most notably during the 2015 COP21 Climate Talks, is brand "greenwashing". The Brandalism project protested corporate sponsorship of the Talks, as they linked the sponsoring companies to activities harmful to the environment. A Brandalism spokesperson had stated that the COP21 advocacy was intended to expose "the links between advertising, consumerism, fossil fuel dependency and climate change".

Body image
The Brandalism group also advocates against idealized images of beauty and body image dictated in advertisements. An aspect of the group's mandate is to criticize the advertising industry for creating unrealistic expectations of body image expectations through the creation of advertisements. The group also uses art and advertisement subversion to expose alleged corporate appropriation of female empowerment. Their website uses the Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty as an example of using female empowerment as a marketing mechanism to brand beauty products. The Brandalism group also criticizes racism, prejudice, and colonialism they link to the depiction of beauty and body image standards expressed in advertising and corporate media.

Cultural values
Through the satirization of public advertising, Brandalism assigns responsibility to advertising for influencing cultural values of materialism. The group discourages corporate sponsorship and funding of public institutions and the influence this gives large corporations over societal cultural values. Their objective is to critique the impact of consumption on cultural values and to exploit the capitalist-provoked ideologies of happiness related to consumption. The ultimate goal of Brandalism is to moderate advertising in order to moderate values indicative of consumerist society. Brandalism aims to redirect values of materialism towards environment and wildlife preservation.

Government Involvement
The work of Brandalists critisize the government for their lack of restriction of visual corporate activity in public spaces. They present a critique of political leaders and policy-makers for overlooking corporate advertising and branding in public areas.

Social Media
The Brandalism group uses social media to create buzz and have the ability to reach a large number of people internationally. The group has an account on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Companies Targeted

 * Volkswagon
 * Air France
 * Mobil
 * Dow Chemicals
 * GDF Suez
 * JC Decaux

Legal Status
Like vandalism, brandalism is an illegal practice.

Corporate
Various corporate companies protested against the acts. This is inclusive of the company who hosted the initial event in 2013. Rebranding, a marketing mechanism, was able to relabel greenwashing critique through other media outlets.