We cannot escape the surveillance of trademarks whose influence has roboticized us into loyal capital subjects. The oversaturation with the commercialization of trademarks invades our minds so that we never forget to obey the capitalist regime

The influence of marketing techniques on Western¶ culture is not limited to the messages they convey¶ directly. Today advertising and sponsorship are the¶ central source of income for the main media: television, radio, and the printed press. This allows the¶ advertisers to exercise considerable control over the¶ content of these media.22 Over time, commercial conglomerates increasingly discover ways to use media to¶ convey their promotional messages. A good example of¶ this tendency is product placement. Relatively uncommon in the mid-1990s it is found today in nearly every¶ movie, reality show, game show, and sitcom. Media¶ previously thought to be inappropriate for commercial¶ marketing, such as novels and songs, are now losing¶ their immunity.23 Product placement expands gradually¶ into new types of media, such as video games, internet¶ magazines, and even blogs.24¶ This trend illustrates a more general tendency. As¶ soon as corporations discover the potential of a certain¶ medium to attract an audience, they attempt to attach¶ their marketing messages to it. If the medium is¶ especially successful, it is often purchased altogether.¶ Thus, for example, in 1982 the Coca-Cola Company¶ purchased Columbia Pictures and in 2006 Google Inc.¶ purchased YouTube. No medium of mass communication is immune to marketing. In the world of capitalism and free market competition, every product¶ ultimately reaches the one who values it the most, that¶ is, is willing to pay the highest price for it.25 Audience¶ is a precious product for corporations, which seek to¶ expose potential consumers to their marketing. Thus,¶ every communication medium that attracts an audience is almost inevitably destined to convey marketing¶ messages.¶ As soon as a communication medium is sponsored¶ or owned by advertisers, commercial interest gradually¶ gains control over its content. Thus, for example,¶ Coca-Cola banned the use of 7-Up and Pepsi products¶ in movies produced by Columbia Pictures shortly after¶ purchasing the company. There has been at least one¶ instance when a movie director was compelled to¶ change its final scene to suit the visions of a commercial sponsor (Reebok) which placed its products in the¶ movie.26 At times, corporations wishing to promote¶ their products even initiate the creation of artistic projects. Thus, in 2005, McDonald’s began offering¶ rewards to hip-hop artists who mentioned the Big Mac¶ in their songs. Nike produced a boxing film to market¶ its shoes. Since advertisers are almost always willing to¶ pay more than the audience to the owner of a given¶ medium, they eventually have decisive influence over¶ its content.¶ Since a principal goal of almost every marketing¶ message is the creation of a strong and meaningful trade¶ mark, it can be said that the process of creating meaningful trade marks has a deep influence on our cultural¶ environment. But what is the nature of that influence?¶ Commercial corporations promote a certain ideology.¶ Consider two following examples. In 1971 Janis Joplin¶ wrote the song, ‘Mercedes Benz’. In the song she asks¶ the Lord to buy her a Mercedes Benz, a colour TV, and¶ a night on the town. The song was written as a social¶ commentary on the fact that people relate happiness to¶ consumption and material possessions. Ironically, in¶ 1995, Mercedes Benz obtained a licence from Janis¶ Joplin’s step-sister, who owned the rights to the song, to¶ use it in its own commercial. The second example is the¶ vagrant style created by hippies in the 1960s. This style¶ was meant to convey the anti-establishment beliefs of¶ this counterculture group, but was immediately adopted¶ by clothing manufacturers and presented in advertising¶ as a novelty in dressing style. By the early 1970s, much¶ of the hippie style had been already integrated into¶ mainstream American culture.27¶ These two examples demonstrate how commercial¶ interest can distort the meaning of a cultural sign,¶ when this meaning clashes with the commercial ideology. The strongest message of their ideology is the¶ endorsement of the values of capitalism in general and¶ consumer culture in particular. Several big media sponsors have even formulated in explicit rules that the¶ media content must not bear any kind of critique on¶ advertising, on the consumer culture, and, more generally, any negative claims concerning the capitalist world¶ order.28 The ideology promoted by commercial corporations has already acquired a dominant position in¶ Western society; it is usually taken for granted and very¶ rarely questioned. The more media falls into the hands¶ of advertisers, the deeper these values will be ingrained¶ into Western culture, making it increasingly materialistic and consumption-oriented.¶ Over time, marketing techniques increasingly¶ capture public space. Sidewalks, buildings, beaches, and¶ every place our eye naturally falls on bear messages¶ designed to make us remember certain trade marks.¶ Marketing messages saturate public space and constantly invade the private sphere. Some scholars equate,¶ quite properly, commercial overload with air pollution.29 The legal system provides no protection¶ against the downpour of commercial messages. Quite¶ the contrary, since the commercial messages are¶ regarded as ‘neutral’, they can reach people in places¶ where political messages cannot, for example, in situations of ‘captive audience’.30 The very omnipresence of¶ promotional messages further endorses the commercial¶ ideology. The more we are used to these messages, the¶ more they seem as a natural and indispensable part of¶ our life. Our environment, saturated with marketing,¶ tells us implicitly that commercial messages have the¶ legitimacy to reach us everywhere, to appear in every¶ possible medium. People become conditioned with the¶ idea that consumption and marketing have the right to¶ occupy a central place in their lives.¶ Thus, although commercial speech is not regarded as¶ a primary subject of the First Amendment, for all¶ intents and purposes it is commercial speech that dominates our social and cultural discourse. This process is¶ made possible by the logic of capitalism and free market¶ economy: the divine right of capital31 has no limits.¶ Capital can control or purchase whatever it wishes.¶ When it wishes to enter the cultural scene, hardly any¶ structure will stay immune to its power. Under these¶ circumstances, there is hardly anything that can hamper¶ the dominance of the commercial ideology