Making use of ’Obama’ image to sell products
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Işıl Eğrikavuk
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 19, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL-If political propaganda indeed helps reshape elections, Istanbul is staging the biggest battle these days, with hundreds of posters, flags and other material covering each square meter of the city landscape. Yet, among all this paper, one stands out looking strangely familiar, and that is the face of the president of the United States, Barack Obama
It first happened two weeks ago, when posters of U.S. President Barack Obama suddenly appeared at bus stops, looking almost exactly like the ones he used for his election campaign.
The greenish pop-art style posters were followed by a TV ad, where Obama was asserting how sorry he was for not having announced such an economic package himself. Of course, it was not really Obama in the picture; rather it was a look-alike promoting a bank’s economic package campaign.
"I saw the ad on TV, and at a first glance I thought it was Obama," said Zerrin Boynudelik, an art historian and associate professor at Yıldız Technical University. "But when I figured it was an ad, I thought it was quite misleading. I’d say they might have been inspired by Obama’s ideas, but this looks exactly like Obama’s campaign posters. Even its form is the same. This is not creativity; in academia we call this plagiarism. If I was Obama, I would object to this ad."
Anita Oğurlu, an instructor at the Visual Communications Department at Bilgi University, raises other ethical problems about the advertisement. "I find the campaign illusionist," said Oğurlu. "In these difficult times, how ethical is it for banks to keep advertising loans and economic packages? Plus, it is far too early to tell if this package is indeed going to be sustainable. How does anyone know what is going to happen in six months?"
The fake Obama ad’s creator, Alametifarika advertising agency, says it thought of Obama because he is well known. "Our customer Garanti Bank told us that it wanted to revitalize the economy. We thought Obama is seen as the only person who can reorient the effects of the economic crisis; therefore we chose to use his image. We don’t have any other agenda," said Bediz Eker, brand manager at the advertising agency.
Warhol in Turkish politics
Thirty years ago, Andy Warhol underlined the power of mass media by reproducing a single image over and over. During the 2008 American presidential elections, Obama’s campaign was most identified with a Warhol-like poster, "Hope," designed by street artist Shepard Fairey. "Hope" quickly became the icon of Obama’s election campaign, and it seems to be spreading abroad. Turkish politician Mustafa Sarıgül, a candidate for Istanbul’s Sisli district mayoralty also chose to use a similar pop-art design for his election campaign.
"Sarıgül is the first one that adopted Obama’s style," Boynudelik said. "But that is problematic, too. Plus it only talks to a certain sophisticated audience, those who are familiar with what pop-art is. In order to fully grasp or appreciate that image, one needs to have a familiarity with that style. Otherwise it might look like a printing mistake."Yet the advertising agency seems not to think so. "Our art directors preferred using pop-art style," Eker said. "We don’t think it is unethical. It is an often-used strategy."
Political icons not only affect the elections but also cultural norms. Steve Seidman, the author of "Posters, Propaganda and Persuasion," said he is worried that the expectations are being set too high for Obama. "There is an image by Ray Noland, called ’The Dream.’ The iconography is both religious showing him as a saint and even revolutionary."
Obama symbolizes the American dream for many people in Turkey. "There is a sentimental patriotic message behind this ad," Oğurlu said. "I think it is a bit like a fantasy that even Obama needs a Turkish bank to help out. It is building a misleading sense of Turkish nationalism."
The greenish pop-art style posters were followed by a TV ad, where Obama was asserting how sorry he was for not having announced such an economic package himself. Of course, it was not really Obama in the picture; rather it was a look-alike promoting a bank’s economic package campaign.
"I saw the ad on TV, and at a first glance I thought it was Obama," said Zerrin Boynudelik, an art historian and associate professor at Yıldız Technical University. "But when I figured it was an ad, I thought it was quite misleading. I’d say they might have been inspired by Obama’s ideas, but this looks exactly like Obama’s campaign posters. Even its form is the same. This is not creativity; in academia we call this plagiarism. If I was Obama, I would object to this ad."
Anita Oğurlu, an instructor at the Visual Communications Department at Bilgi University, raises other ethical problems about the advertisement. "I find the campaign illusionist," said Oğurlu. "In these difficult times, how ethical is it for banks to keep advertising loans and economic packages? Plus, it is far too early to tell if this package is indeed going to be sustainable. How does anyone know what is going to happen in six months?"
The fake Obama ad’s creator, Alametifarika advertising agency, says it thought of Obama because he is well known. "Our customer Garanti Bank told us that it wanted to revitalize the economy. We thought Obama is seen as the only person who can reorient the effects of the economic crisis; therefore we chose to use his image. We don’t have any other agenda," said Bediz Eker, brand manager at the advertising agency.
Warhol in Turkish politics
Thirty years ago, Andy Warhol underlined the power of mass media by reproducing a single image over and over. During the 2008 American presidential elections, Obama’s campaign was most identified with a Warhol-like poster, "Hope," designed by street artist Shepard Fairey. "Hope" quickly became the icon of Obama’s election campaign, and it seems to be spreading abroad. Turkish politician Mustafa Sarıgül, a candidate for Istanbul’s Sisli district mayoralty also chose to use a similar pop-art design for his election campaign.
"Sarıgül is the first one that adopted Obama’s style," Boynudelik said. "But that is problematic, too. Plus it only talks to a certain sophisticated audience, those who are familiar with what pop-art is. In order to fully grasp or appreciate that image, one needs to have a familiarity with that style. Otherwise it might look like a printing mistake."Yet the advertising agency seems not to think so. "Our art directors preferred using pop-art style," Eker said. "We don’t think it is unethical. It is an often-used strategy."
Political icons not only affect the elections but also cultural norms. Steve Seidman, the author of "Posters, Propaganda and Persuasion," said he is worried that the expectations are being set too high for Obama. "There is an image by Ray Noland, called ’The Dream.’ The iconography is both religious showing him as a saint and even revolutionary."
Obama symbolizes the American dream for many people in Turkey. "There is a sentimental patriotic message behind this ad," Oğurlu said. "I think it is a bit like a fantasy that even Obama needs a Turkish bank to help out. It is building a misleading sense of Turkish nationalism."