January 1984, I was 18, and curious to learn more about the advertising industry, especially it’s impact on us and on the rest of the world. This was my first art-book project, whilst I was studying at what was then Brighton Polytechnic, on a foundation year in art and design. As I dug deeper I uncovered the relationship between advertising, consumerism, the industrial system’s dependence on economic growth and the resulting environmental destruction. It changed my perspective on life. When I reread this recently I was shocked at how clearly predictable the current ecological and climatic crisis was 40 years ago.
The following are excerpts, about a third of the book.
Had I written this now I would have not described the Global South as the “Third World”.
