In our efforts to "examine different forms of communication within the media" (first learning outcome from Part 2), we deserve to look at an entire range of advertisements. There are many different kinds of ads, from print ads to commercials, from billboards to flyers. While the purpose of advertising is quite clear, i.e. sell a product or idea, the ways in which advertisers can influence their audience are abundant and multi-faceted. 

This lesson explores the wonderful world of 'guerrilla' and 'ambient' advertising. If you are not familiar with the concept, it is quite simple: guerrilla and ambient advertising involve the unique placement of unique ads, which makes their meaning dependent on the physical context in which they appear. The 'Oldtimer' rest stop ad, depicted opposite, illustrates the concept of guerrilla and ambient advertising quite well. A picture of an open mouth with the heading 'All you can eat Rest stop' conveys meaning when the mouth is actually eating something, literally, which happens to be these cars that drive through the mouth and into a tunnel.

The term 'ambient' refers to the ad's dependence on its physical surroundings. The term 'guerrilla' refers to the fact that these ads are not always placed with the permission of the person or organization that owns the space in which the ads are placed. Just as 'guerrilla' warfare breaks the rules of war, guerrilla ads often break the conventions of advertising. They started in the 1990s as a subversive form of marketing, with stickers on light posts (in fact the famous 'Hope' poster of Barack Obama by Shepard Fairey is an example of one such sticker). Originally guerrilla ads were inexpensive and part of a counter-culture. Today guerrilla advertising is also conducted by mainstream, commercial organizations. For the sake of brevity, we will refer to 'guerrilla advertising' in this lesson, as 'ambient' is implicit in all of the ads you will see. 

There are several questions that you should ask yourself as you analyze the following 10 guerilla ads: 

• Who has placed this ad in this location?
• How is the meaning of this ad dependent on its placement?
• How might the ad make viewers think differently about a particular product or idea?

In this lesson you will apply these questions to 10 guerrilla ads

10 Guerrilla ads

Download the PowerPoint presentation below and view the slides together as a class. You will notice that the photographs of the ads have been cropped to exclude the physical surroundings of each ad. Before you click forward to the next slide, try to guess where the ad literally appears. Every other slide reveals the context of the ad on the previous slide. 

After you have completed this guessing game, go back to review each ad and comment on them using the questions in the table below. 

 10 Guerrila ads

Who has placed this ad in this location and how is it context dependent?	How might the ad make viewers think differently about a particular product or idea?
1) Agnesian must be an organization that helps people with sleeping disorders. Their ad only words when place on the glass door of a refrigerated shelving space, such as those seen in gas stations or supermarkets, where energy drinks are sold.	Because one physically has to open the glass door of this refrigerator before selecting and purchasing an energy drink, the consumer is forced to think about the adverse effects of these drinks, such as sleeping disorder. The word 'sleep' on a can suggests that it is a product that can be bought and sold, making fun of the way 'energy' is placed on a can.
2) Sabina Stobrawe's ad works well on the back wall of an elevator, where the elevator doors depict a bride and groom separating as you enter.	The ad makes you wonder how easily married couples can split up, like the doors of an elevator that open regularly. As the doors open the photograph of the bride and groom is cut in half. Most likely this ad gets a good laugh by those who step into the elevator.
3) The NRDC (National Resource Defence Council) has placed this ad on the side of a building, where the smokestack appears to be the barrel of a pistol. It could only work in such a location as this.	Because air pollution does not have the same sensational impact as a pistol, viewers need to be given a visual stimulus to connect air pollution with death. The pistol does this effectively.
4) Funeral Services Bergman and Sohn placed this on the wall opposite a platform in a metro tunnel. In any other context it may mean 'come emotionally closer to loved ones.' In this context, the viewer is encouraged to take a step closer to his or her death.	It is not clear whether this ad was intentionally placed here. If so, it is a rather sinister (though funny) attempt to kill its viewer, which would naturally result in a funeral that could be organized by Bergmann and Sohn.
5) The ACAT is a human rights group based in Switzerland, concerned with prisoners' rights and capital punishment. By placing these ads on the backs of buss seats, it gives one the impression that the person sitting is tied up.	The effect of this ad on its viewers is quite alarming. It makes one think that anyone could be tied up and tortured, even people on a bus. The injured hands draw attention.
6) Feed Sa is an organization that collects food for the hungry in South Africa. Placing this image in the bottom of one's shopping cart makes it inescapable while shopping.	The image confronts consumers with the differences between rich and poor. While the consumer has enough money to shop for groceries, the poor child's face reminds him/her that there are others less fortunate, which encourages the consumer to donate to this cause.
7) The ad on the side of a paper towel dispenser in a public bathroom is produced by the World Wildlife Foundation. It works when the paper towels are running out, which makes it look like South America is running out of green forests.	This ad reminds people that there is a direct correlation between the amount of paper towels we use and the number of trees chopped down in the forest.
8) Quit Smoke seems to be an organization that helps people quite smoking. This ad is placed on the exhaust pipe of an automobile, which makes the car's exhaust look like the smoke coming from the mouth of a smoker.	The exhaust pipe of a car is a rather unconventional location for an advertisement. The location alone makes it intriguing for the viewer. Furthermore it compares the dirty associations with car exhaust to the smoke from a smoker.
9) This awareness campaign for lung cancer appears on the ceiling of a designated smoking area. It makes you look up and imagine what it would look like if you were lying in your grave, literally.	The effect of this ad on the viewer is quite confrontational. It is meant to make the smoker feel uncomfortable.
10) This page is inserted into books at bookstores and libraries by an organization that helps people quit smoking.	Imagine what it is like to being reading the final pages of an exciting novel, when suddenly, you come across this page. It compares the book story to one's life story. In other words if smoking cuts your life short, it is as if your story ends prematurely.

More guerrilla ads

This lesson makes us more aware of how an ad can interact with its surrounding. In a sense these ads draw our attention to the dependene of texts on their contexts. Here several discussion questions based on the above mentioned ads and a few new ones below:

1. Do you think that Ad 4 is intentionally placed in this location? If not, what makes you think that it might be a misplacement?
2. Which of these 10 ads do you think were most 'subversively' placed without permission from the location's owner? In other words how 'guerrilla' are these ads?
3. Which ads do you find most alarming, confrontational or shocking?
4. How are Ads 11 - 14 similar to or different from the ads above?

Towards assessment

Further oral activity - After studying a unit on advertising, many students often want to create their own ad campaign. There is nothing wrong with this. In fact this creative process helps one become more perceptive and critical of existing campaigns. For the further oral activity, however, keep in mind that one's work must be rooted in an existing text. If you want to 'pitch' an awareness campaign which you have created on drug awareness, for example, that is perfectly fine, though you should also explain which existing campaigns inspired your campaign. Similarly, if you want to design your own guerrilla ad campaign, that is all right, as long as you show your understanding of 'course material' on guerrilla campaigns. This may take the form of a presentation, a pitch, a speech or an interview with the designer. See page on 'form and content' for further support on designing an activity.