So Glad BM is Brand Free

[Stormy]

I am really glad that the Borg encourages everyone to cover their brand labels on trucks, clothing, etc. It's good to have a place that isn't invaded by corporate sponsorship. I haven't been in the Center Camp Cafe for a couple of years. Do they cover all product branding there?

My spouse just forwarded me this article about the Olympics. Quite sad.
http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2004/08/08/f202.raw.html

[Fat SAM]

That's pretty sick, dude. Pretty soon, it's just going to be the few people with their eyes open versus the corporate megaliths. Everyone else will be cozy in their Eddie Bauer edition SUV's humming along to their favorite radio commercial on the way to Starbucks.

[DVD Burner]

I like the BM brand myself. The logo and all works great into my artistic scheme.

[JezebelinHell]

There was a great art piece involving brands last year. It was an American Flag, but all the stars were replaced with the logos for major corporations. I have a picture of it somewhere...

[SilkenTofu]

The cafe is center camp is pretty free of labels, I think even the brand of the espresso machines is covered with stickers and art. It is nice to be able to wander and not have the assult on the eyes of brand names. But labels/brand names do have a certain appeal out there. Let's say you wander into someone's camp and after some pleasentries they offer you a cold beer, they open their cooler and have Pabst Blue Ribbon, Budweiser, and Heinekin. Do you grab whatever or do you go for the label? Same goes for cigarettes, hard alcohol and even food. But I guess that the response can just be chalked up to comfort and personal taste as well.

[maxwells]

JezebelinHell – It’s the Adbuster’s corporate logo flag. I’ll be bringing mine. They are quite nice, aren’t they?

I know a while back, they were using the profits from its sales to fund an advertisement in the NYT I think. Not certain which campaign it was for, it was a while back. But go to adbusters.org for some interesting information of the fight against corporate tyranny.

[Simply Joel]

Tear down the billboards...


Let's hope this is a trend... I am weary of all the brands... bring back homemade, hand-crafted, local produced...

[TheJudge]

There is nothing wrong with a company producing a quality product and I have no problem buying that product if the value is acceptable. The problem lies in the greed most companies have in acquiring the majority of the market. Next thing you know, the logos are everywhere. This is one of the major things that seperates Burning Man from just another festival.

The day I hear that the event is sponsered by Coke will be the day I no longer attend.

[Stormy]

The day I hear that the event is sponsered by Coke will be the day I no longer attend.

How about if it's Yerba Mate instead?

[TheMuse]

I highly suggest you all read the book FEED by M.T. Anderson. It is usually in the young adult section, but I find it a stunning work that illustrates what our world could become should our consumerist mentality continue unchecked. Once you get past the lingo and slang of the characters, the underlying message is disturbing but neccessary. It should be required reading in EVERY high school.

[TheMuse]

I highly suggest you all read the book FEED by M.T. Anderson. It is usually in the young adult section, but I find it a stunning work that illustrates what our world could become should our consumerist mentality continue unchecked. Once you get past the lingo and slang of the characters, the underlying message is disturbing but neccessary. It should be required reading in EVERY high school.

[TheMuse]

I highly suggest you all read the book FEED by M.T. Anderson. It is usually in the young adult section, but I find it a stunning work that illustrates what our world could become should our consumerist mentality continue unchecked. Once you get past the lingo and slang of the characters, the underlying message is disturbing but neccessary. It should be required reading in EVERY high school.

[Simply Joel]

apparently important or impatient enough to post 3 times.

[TheMuse]

Not impatient hehe kept getting the eVOL microslave error message.

[BAS]

There is nothing wrong with a company producing a quality product and I have no problem buying that product if the value is acceptable. The problem lies in the greed most companies have in acquiring the majority of the market. Next thing you know, the logos are everywhere. This is one of the major things that seperates Burning Man from just another festival.

The day I hear that the event is sponsered by Coke will be the day I no longer attend.

That was one of the problems I had with OfficeMax during the brief time I worked there: Their whole business plan was to simply move into a market a competitor had developed and drive the competitor out. I always wondered what would happen if they ran out of other companies to develop markets for them?

[SilkenTofu]

That was one of the problems I had with OfficeMax during the brief time I worked there: Their whole business plan was to simply move into a market a competitor had developed and drive the competitor out. :roll: I always wondered what would happen if they ran out of other companies to develop markets for them?

Guess ya'll didn't hear about "Reggae in the Desert" next year.

[Sensei]

I really love it when I see a rental truck whose logo has been lovingly altered for playa consumption. "Ride me", "Fudget" "U-ball", the list goes on and on...

[Lostfolio]

AT&T and Clearwater present BURNING MAN 2010: ROCKIN' THE PLAYA!

Hey, hipsters! Are you going to be at the most rockingest party of 2010? Stop on by Camp Do-The-Dew for some extreme skateboarding from Tony Huck! And if you're getting hungry out there just slide on by CampTGIFriday's where it always air conditioned and smoke and alcohol free!

This year promises to be the most star studded Burning Man yet with performances by Britney Spears, Rick James' Preserved Brain and Yanni! All hosted by funny man Ray Romano!

So if you're feeling alternative, enter now at Pepsi.com and don't forget, register to vote at Camp Rockin' the Vote!

Drink Rockstar responsibly

[waltsnipe]

I agree that the event's/participant's virulently anti-commercialism stance is a major appeal for me. I'm one of those people who drive other's crazy by muting the TV frantically so as not to hear one nano-second of advertising, changing radio stations in the car at the merest hint of a commercial, rail against superimposed "vitual" ads during football games, etc. In fact, I lost a long-time friend over the fact that he joined a start-up years ago that (he excitedly explained to me) was developing a technology to put flat-screens affordably everywhere (gas pumps, elevators, urinals, etc.), so that there would be NO PLACE where a sales pitch can't assault you.

As Bill Hicks was so fond of saying: "Are any of you in the crowd here tonight in advertising or marketing? Then, please, kill yourselves. I know you're waiting for the joke. There is no joke. Just off yourselves and do humanity a favor......" (if you've heard the bit, then follows a hilarious section where he imitates the marketing people saying "Ooooh.....Bill's tapping into the 'anger' dollar....that's a huge dollar....very big in times of recession.....Bill's very smart to do that").

Larry Harvey is to be commended for resisting what I'm sure are the truly staggering amounts of cash he is offered each year to accept sponsors at Burning Man. May this be the dominant ethic for all Burns to come!

WaltSnipe, SCARAB Camp

[Stormy]

What is SCARAB Camp up to this year?

[waltsnipe]

Wellsir, let's see......SCARAB has all kinds of stuff planned for this year:

I host an annual world music community dance on Tuesday nights on the playa. Two years ago it was North African dance music, last year was sub-Saharan African dance music, and this year is our Carnaval: Night in Brazil Dance. Tuesday night, 8-10:45pm, and simulcast on Radio Electra 89.9 FM. SCARAB is located at 6:30 between Venus and Earth. Come join us for sweaty tunes from Rio, dance in our jungle, and the first 50 dancers get a colorfully-labelled CD mix of the night's tunes.

Our camp art theme this year is "Alien Menagerie," and we'll have a host of aliens around camp. Whenever the mood strikes, we're taking them out for processionals around the playa, on a cart hauled behind the SnipeTrike. I've written and recorded original music for the processions, and supplicants to the aliens will receive a shot of offworldly goodness (aka a shot of Ouzo, Metaxa, or mescal) from the bizarre and questionable attendants (ie. SCARAB folks). We'll see how our battery-operated black lights do for night time processions.....

Bart has constructed an Alien Abduction Plaftform which burners can ascend and wait for their ticket off this rock. Besides aliens around the base of the platform, we will also have campaign literature for the Elder Party, whose motto for this election cycle is "Why Settle for the Lesser Evil?" (those familiar with HP Lovecraft will know what all this nonsense is about). Arlene has constructed Big George's Intergallactic Teahouse, for more civilzed afternoon sippage. Connie has a giant Scrabble game made in runes, and we should also have all the Egyptian stage props that we inherited last year from an opera in San Fran. Plus a few surprises, I think.....

SCARAB is where most of the DJs for Radio Electra call home, and we have various repeating radio shows throughout the week. Matt "Change It" Gubitz will be helping me with this year's Guitars that Rule the Playa show daily from 3-4pm, and I'll have my own WaltSnipe Radio Hour from 4-5pm daily. Matt and I will be returning with the "tripper's choice" Send Your Mind Over the Edge show (for a 4th year) on Wed. night from 11pm-2am (tune in your radios at the Pagoda burn, and I promise to be playing something suitably disturbed for the ocassion). I'll also be helping people ease off the playa on Sunday with a three-hour Exodus set. Connie and Bart each have daily morning radio shows, and of course Sir Skip of Dakota will have the bulk of evening prime time.

Also, I'll be doing a set at Center Camp Cafe on guitar on Wed. from 5-6pm, with Matt helping out on percussion.

Not to mention that Matt, Sunburn Sarah and I intend to kick ass and take names at the Alien Love Nest talent show with our new act "Bongo Tequila." I don't want to give it all away, but how can you lose with Monte Alban, a kazoo, and butt percussion?

Come on down and visit, and we'll ply you with liquor and swap marvelous lies,

WaltSnipe, SCARAB Musical Director

[Rian Jackson]

'scuse me.
that's alienMONKEYlovenest to you.
ya'll sound awesome. hope i can make it there. and stop by when you come by A47/AMLN.

[theCryptofishist]

I'm one of those people who drive other's crazy by muting the TV frantically so as not to hear one nano-second of advertising, changing radio stations in the car at the merest hint of a commercial, rail against superimposed "vitual" ads during football games, etc.

Me too. I hate advertising, I think that it's banalizing our culture fasther than anything else, and I hate that they've organized it so that lies are "protected speech." I don't even listen to radio very often, I hate ads so much, not to mention the pure blandness that prevails musically. I'm still suseptible to the tv habit, but I do love th mute. And advertising to kids is much more damaging to them than anything they could see on the playa--life in all its messy glory trumps viscious lies everytime. to cross post

[Stormy]

Wellsir, let's see......SCARAB has all kinds of stuff planned for this year:
... Connie has a giant Scrabble game made in runes, and we should also have all the Egyptian stage props that we inherited last year from an opera in San Fran. Plus a few surprises, I think.....
... Come on down and visit, and we'll ply you with liquor and swap marvelous lies,

Fabulous! Sounds like y'all will be quite busy and my darling has a thing for scarabs and all things Egyptian.
http://eplaya.burningman.org/images/avatars/15776207763f55fcf321bd7.gif

If you're in the hood, stop by Lahontan, In Gigsville, around 4:20 & Venus. We have hot coffee in the morning and cool water gun fights in the afternoon. Plus the Villians have all sort of random weirdness happening on the stage and at the Car-b-que.

[waltsnipe]

Thanks for the invite, and hope we see you all at the Night in Brazil Dance Tuesday night. Pelvi (the plural) will be thrusting rythmically, which has to be a good thing.

_______________________________________________________

Sorry for leaving the "Monkey" out of the Nest......we all know how painful that can be. Tequila Bongo hopes to bust it out at the ALMN on Monday afternoon, if y'all are up and running.

waltsnipe, SCARAB Camp musical director

[sparkletarte]

I would say it sounds like BM is mostly brand free. I have the feeling I will be seeing an awful lot of beer and other alcohol brands out there.

I can't wait for Carnaval!!!!

[waltsnipe]

Well, I'm old enough to remember when they sold beer that was just a white can that said "BEER" on it. You wouldn't like it

Can't wait to see YOU at Carnaval!

waltsnipe

[Stormy]

Woo hoo Carnaval!!

[Stormy]

I would say it sounds like BM is mostly brand free. I have the feeling I will be seeing an awful lot of beer and other alcohol brands out there.

You could always start a home brew movement.

[Rob the Wop]

I would say it sounds like BM is mostly brand free. I have the feeling I will be seeing an awful lot of beer and other alcohol brands out there.

You could always start a home brew movement.

My little brother used to camp with Homebrew Camp in 94? 93? Something like that. I personally don't bring anything I don't make.