The sun was setting, golden hour. The girl was wearing a grey shirt and black slides (shoes). Then she decided to throw me with them. The brand name hit me in the face and thus began my musings about adverts and brands.

She hid behind her shoes so that I could not see her face, hiding behind the black shoes so that I could not see if she smiled or cried. Yet she ran away as I tried to give her shoe back, the one she threw at me.

Like a modern Cinderella story, I am searching for my princess and all I have is a black shoe.

I hope you enjoy these photographs of the girl who I could never write. At the end of the post are my usual musings about some or other topic.

Without further ado...

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Hashtag, This is Not an Ad

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Musing About Adverts

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We are constantly being bombarded by adverts, from Television, to our phones, to our kitchen and our so-called hobbies and recreational activities. Everything has been commodified to such an extent that you really need to look hard to do something that does not cost you money. To eat costs money, to go hike costs money, to paint costs money, to wander in public spaces costs money. Or most things require money. And with all of this commodification comes brands. And brand ambassadors. Nothing is innocent, everything is an advert even if it claims not to be one. How funny is it when someone claims in our commodified world that "this is not an ad"? What does it even mean? In the context where everything is commodified and being sold, it is absolutely an advert if someone is proclaiming to use a product when they have an audience that listens.

Photography is not immune to this world of commodification. Recently, I saw a photographer hiding what camera and gear they use behind a paywall. Hashtag, this is not an ad, I am merely trying to make a living. Which is understandable. I am also situated in a world where one needs to pay bills, where things cost money, and income, however way it is obtained, is still income.

But the world feels like one big advert at this stage. Constantly reminding us of our need to consume, consume, consume. This is how money is being made, by the buckets. When I walk through the shop, one of the bigger chain shops, they make the "beep beep beep" of products being scanned very obvious. When the shop is busy, it is a non-stop constant "beep beep beep", and I am constantly thinking, that is money flowing to the pockets of those who own the chain. Every second. Every second there is another beep. And every beep is a reminder to come back, to shop again! Constant desire is being created, never to be fulfilled because as soon as the desire is fulfilled, profit ceases. Then the beeping stops.

When I drive home, I see countless billboards telling me about new shops, new motor cars for sale, houses for sale, pizza for sale, buy one get one free. Constantly reminding me to buy more. Constantly reminding me that I should yearn, desire, want. All these adverts remind me of how empty I am. how much I am lacking, and that the only answer to resolve the lack is to buy.

I go on my cellphone, to nonsensically scroll, to get away from my busy life, just to be bombarded with adverts on every website. Does your dog need weed oil because it cannot cope with the stress (this is a read advert that played on our local radio)? Do you want to look at this or that product? Buy this or that bottle of wine? Are you not already bored with your current device? Don't you need new shoes, preferably this or that brand?

Are we not endorsing these brands while we wear them? A constantly moving advert? Why should we pay them to advertise their brand?

I prefer to wear clothes without any logo on them. Just for the fact of not endorsing these brands on a constant basis, but also not to partake in the game we play of placing people in categories. "Oh, they are wearing XYZ."

And the funny thing about it all is that I preferred some of the "brand names" because their quality was superior to other brands. But now, it feels like everything is relatively the same. However, the price of the brand names has increased marginally, while the no-brands have hiked their prices so that they match what brand names have always cost. But quality overall just went down to what it always was.

The more they advertise, the more quality drops. (Because of all the hidden costs, adverts, endorsements by "famous" people, free stuff being distributed to "hashtag, this is not an ad" people, and so on.) In the end, the consumer pays for all the free stuff being given to so-called influencers. Or that is what my mind wants to believe. Rationalising what remains irrational.

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Postscriptum, or She Threw Me With a Shoe

She was not all that happy with me. She threw a shoe at me. Luckily, I have extremely good dodging skills and no one was hurt. All jokes aside, I hope that you enjoy these photographs and the musings, if you read them.

Maybe you do not agree with me on my musings and positions toward adverts. Maybe you feel the same. Life is full of adverts, let us talk about it!

For now, happy photographing, keep well!

All of the musings and opinions are my own, albeit inspired by the shoe being thrown at me. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300 and 50mm Nikkor lens.