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Advertising Anarchism:
The Pitfalls and Possibilities of Propaganda


For some, the word “propaganda” elicits fear. For others, it suggests a musty sort of nostalgia for the early part of the twentieth century when anarchists and revolutionaries used it to promote alternative visions of social organization. With the rise of advertising and government agencies entirely devoted to shaping public opinion, “propaganda” took on frightening connotations of manipulation and deceit.


With state and corporate appropriation of propaganda, anarchists and revolutionaries shied away from rhetorically superior forms of persuasion. The anti-authoritarian impulse to shun all forms of coercion is fraught with an obvious problem. How can anti-authoritarians persuade their audiences of the virtues of their visions of social transformation without resorting to tried rhetorical methods often dismissed as “propagandistic?”

By negating strategies of advertising, branding, and propaganda, anarchists and revolutionaries have often failed to successfully create winning campaigns in the marketplace of ideas. The sad result is that by waging poorly conceived campaigns, anti-authoritarians have defeated their visions before communicating them to the public at large. Without a viable communication and public relations strategy, anarchism has turned into an anachronism.


In an effort to remedy this perilous defeatism, artists, activists, propagandists, historians, technologists, psychologists, theorists, and cultural critics are hereby invited to submit essays for an upcoming anthology tentatively titled: Advertising Anarchism:The Pitfalls and Possibilities of Propaganda. Starting with the premise that anarchists do have something valuable to communicate, many provocative and vital questions emerge.— What works, what doesn’t, and most importantly, why?
— What are the costs and consequences of using or not using coercive rhetorical strategies?
— What can be learned from the fields of advertising? Branding? Mass marketing?
— What might anti-authoritarians learn from state propaganda in politically diverse countries like the United States, the USSR, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, and Germany?
— What strategies can anti-authoritarians appropriate from television, the film industry, the gaming industries, and marketing agents?
— What are the ethical limits of rhetoric? When does advertisement become a form of authoritarianism? What can anti-authoritarians do to prevent that?
— What are the most historically relevant cases of successful anarchist and anti-authoritarian propaganda?
— What are the most effective forms of propaganda and what can anarchists learn from them?
— Should anarchists use social networking websites, blogging, and vlogging to spread their ideas? If so, how?
— Should anti-authoritarians interact with, use, or subvert corporate media, the non-profit establishment, or other so-called mainstream systems of idea dissemination? What are the most effective ways this has been and could be done?
— What institutions have existed, exist, or should exist to create effective propaganda? How have they been or should they be organized?
— What alternatives exist to propaganda, advertising, and branding? How should they be deployed?
— Is it really worth attracting the attention of a “mass audience” through “mass media?” Why?
— Can anarchism rescue itself from the vaults of history with successful branding? How?
— In what ways can anarchists target campaigns to specific demographics? What are effective strategies for market research?
— Should anarchists aspire to compete rhetorically with multinational corporations, the state, the military, etc…? If so, how?
— Is the term propaganda useful? If so, why? If not, what terms are better suited for anarchist messaging?
— What are the benefits and perils of local and/or global campaigns? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy?
— By communication with dominant rhetorical strategies, are anarchists reinforcing dominant culture?
— What are the benefits and perils of illegal forms of distribution such as pirate radio and television?
— What are the benefits and perils of work within dominant culture?
— In what ways can propagandists best relate their work to specific campaigns?
— What ways has anarchist propaganda been funded? How can it continue to be funded? What are specific funding strategies?
— In what ways do propaganda and art differ? Should they be theorized and practiced separately?

Subjects of interest include but are not limited to:
— Digital technologies
— Blogging/Vlogging
— Gaming
— Print
— Film/Video
— Public Service Announcements
— Radio
— Journalism
— Zines
— Publishing
— Billboards
— Posters
— Graffiti
— Graphic Design
— Oration/Public Speaking
— Teach-ins
— Branding
— Websites
— Social Networking
— Fashion
— Viral Marketing
— Funding Structures

Essays should focus on the history, theory, and/or contemporary practice of propaganda and/or practical tips for messaging and advertising in a variety of mediums. In looking at the history, theory, practice, and tips, writers should focus on rhetorical, aesthetic, and practical strategies that create successful propaganda campaigns.

After reading the book, anti-authoritarians should be armed with a sound historical and theoretical background to frame their rhetorical strategies and should be provided with an arsenal of specific tips, skills, and tactics for creating successful campaigns. Essays should give readers skills, ideas, and histories that are as practical as they are intriguing.

Historical essays should focus on concrete examples of anarchist propaganda and messaging from the past. Theoretical essays should illuminate the economic, ethical, strategic, and tactical issues surrounding anarchist propaganda. Essays focusing on contemporary practice should be concrete, pragmatic, and instructive giving readers skills, strategies and tactics for anarchist messaging.

Email complete essays or proposals of 300 words to Kyle Harris at anarchoaesthetics@yahoo.com with the subject “Advertising Anarchism.”

Proposals are due October 1rst.
Complete essays due by December 1rst.

For more information, contact Kyle Harris at anarchoaesthetics@yahoo.com with “Advertising Anarchism” in the subject line.