Advertising in the Landscape

Whereas textual messages can be official or unofficial, so too can advertising. The advertising business in the US has evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry, with 30-second television ads for the 2008 Superbowl going for upwards of $2.7 million. Yet while some large companies spend inordinate amounts of time and money producing massive ad campaigns, others choose to inform the public thorough less formal methods – such as stickering.
Stickering is a verb meaning “to sticker” or “to place stickers around places” – no, it’s not a real word. However, since the main point of language is communication, and this word communicates my message, I will continue to use it.
Anyhow, stickering is a method used by many low-budget companies (the type that can’t afford to spend millions on advertising) to help get their message across. In my experience, I’ve noticed that a lot of bands, online companies, and non-profit organizations tend to communicate with the public via stickering. Thus, I set out around the GMU campus to find examples of advertising through stickers.
Not only are stickers an informal textual message, they are often also completely unsanctioned. Honestly, who do you ask before you put a sticker on a light post? There’s no one to ask. Though they do get ripped down sometimes, often they receive an informal approval by not getting ripped down by the man right away.
Still, they often look like a form of rebellion against authority. A band sticker placed on a street sign seems to be saying “I don’t care about your statist rules.” Even when an owner places a sticker on his own personal property, whether consciously or subconsciously, he’s still advertising. In this case, he’s not only advertising the company portrayed on the sticker, but also advertising himself through his decision to represent himself in relationship with his sticker of choice.