Globalisation

This week we looked at the matter of globalisation, we have to look for examples of globalisation and how art & design has contributed to, rejected or commented on it. Globalisation has always been there, but with advancements in technology and design, it has been able to massively increase within the last century. Through these advancements, the consumer has been made to want things more than they need them. One way to keep the consumer hooked on wanting the products, is by making new ones very regularly... as who wants the old one when you can have the new one. Its basic idea is to make the consumer want to be individual and modern. One current example of excellent globaliation is the apple iPhone. It is now onto the 10th model of its continuing sequence to which you will be able to see the advancements in the design to make it look more modern and new, but being similar in the styling.

Apple IPhone 2g (left) and Apple IPhone 6 plus (right) [1]

You can see that the button and speaker ports are in the same place, the corners are round and the application layout is the same. However the IPhone 6 plus is much larger in size, is white in colour, has extra buttons on the side and also has a front facing camera. Changing things slightly makes the product new, so if they change one thing each time, the consumer is going to want the newer version.

Other companies such as Coca Cola, Pepsi, Disney, Nike, Adidas and McDonald's are examples of successful globalisation. They understand that they need to sell the idea of something to make the consumer want it, rather than to just sell a product. McDonald's menu is very simple, but too keep the consumer interested, they often have limited edition items on the menu for limited times, such as the recently reintroduced 'Mcrib' in the UK. McDonald's is clever in understanding how to adapt to different cultures across the world, as they don't have the same menu in every country and their restaurants are displayed differently as you will see below by the following images.

McNoodles [2]

McCurry Pan [3]

McNurnburger [4]

Greek Mac [5]

Bacon & Potato Pie [6]

You can see from these few examples, anywhere across the world the many food products created by the food franchise to cater for the different cultures, none of the foods above have been sold in McDonald's in the UK, which goes to show you how many different products they have had to create. The real word to use to describe this is 'Glocalisation'. It is a combination of Globalisation and localisation, to show how it is for a certain area.

Now I am going to look at some artists and how they have contributed to or rejected globalisation. The first artist I am going to look at is called Wang Guangyi who created a piece called 'Great Criticism - Coca Cola. This showed illustrated people that look to have been drawn with propaganda in mind, especially with links to china and Communism. It is implying that Coca Cola is like the boss of Communism, and is working through the use of globalisation and smart sales techniques to make you want the product. This artwork is a great and intelligent example of rejection towards globalisation.

Great Criticism - Coca Cola, Wang Guangyi, 1994 [7]

The next artist that I am going to look at is called Jonathan Barnbrook. He has created many different pieces on globalisation, but the first piece I am going to look at includes globalisation and americanisation. It uses his main skill of typography to say 'America's own weapons of mass destruction', this is shown in a pink colour to come forward in the design. But in the background in a more subtle and less recognisable blue, is companies logo's such as 'McDonald's, 'Starbuck's', 'GAP', 'Disney', 'Nike', 'Coca Cola' and 'Hilton'. I believe that he has made the logo's in the blue colour so they are hidden, just like the large scale of globalisation is hidden from everyone across the world. This is another very good example of a rejection towards not only globalisation, but also americanisation.

America's Own Weapons of Mass Destruction, Jonathan Barnbrook, 2003 [8]

Now to look at contributions towards globalisation. This can be in any form of Advertising or Marketing, as this is being used to draw in the consumer to want the product. The advertisement I am looking at is a poster for McDonald's. The advertisement shows one of it's products on the menu, called a 'Filet-O-Fish'. To demonstrate the food, a group of artists have come together to produce something which I believe is amazing. It displays the main outline of the fully constructed 'Filet-O-Fish' as being a transparent fish bowl which is flu with water, which inside of it there is a little goldfish. I believe this is a very god piece of advertising, maybe not so much in the idea that they are making out that their 'Filet-O-Fish' contains a goldfish, which people should understand is very unlikely, but in how they make it look so innocent. They are selling an idea to the consumer, not the actual product, as this differs from just showing the product, it aces the consumer want it because it is interesting. I believe this to be a very positive example of contribution towards globalisation.

McDonald's Filet-O-Fish Poster Advrtisement, Leo Burnett, 2011 [9]

To finish off on the subject of globalisation, I can say that I believe it is taking over the world and that there is no way to stop it. It is like  cycle, the big companies provide you with a job, and with the money you earn you are drawn into wanting to buy products from these big companies, which you are then supporting and funding globalisation to grow and grow. You need a job to be able to survive and the large companies are smart in selling you an idea, to which you give in and buy that idea. The only way to stop or slow down globalisation is to stop buying their smart ideas, but that is very unlikely to happen anytime soon, as society thrives off of it.

Image Reference:
[1]https://photo.tinhte.vn/store/2014/10/2619531_tinhte.vn-iphone6plus-vs-iphne2g-1.jpg
[2]http://firstwefeast.com/eat/craziest-international-mcdonalds-menu-items/s/mcnoodles/
[3]http://firstwefeast.com/eat/craziest-international-mcdonalds-menu-items/s/mccurry-pan/
[4]http://firstwefeast.com/eat/craziest-international-mcdonalds-menu-items/s/mcnurnburger/
[5]https://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/greek-mac.jpg
[6]http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/275485/slide_275485_2000394_free.jpg
[7]http://www.tate.org.uk/research/publications/tate-papers/somewhere-and-nowhere-between-modernity-and-tradition-towards
[8]http://drmartinsurvey2.wikispaces.com/Jonathan+Barnbrook
[9]http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/mcdonalds_filetofish_fish_bowl?size=_original