What's It Mean?

The logic of Culture Jamming is to convert easily identifiable images into larger questions about such matters as corporate responsibility, the "true" environmental and human costs of consumption, or the private corporate uses of the "public" airwaves.


Culture Jams are aimed at exposing questionable political assumptions behind commercial culture so that people can momentarily consider the branded environment in which they live.

Culture jams re-figure logos, fashion, and product advertisements to challenge the idea culture along with assumptions about the personal freedoms of our collective consumer consumption.

Some Jams create a sense of transparency by revealing environmental damages or the social experiences of workers, things that are left out of the advertising fantasies played out on billboards.



For instance, this BP logo was made in reference to the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill that occurred in 2010 which the world is still experiencing the fallout from today.

A History of Culture Jamming

The Words, "Culture Jamming"

Come from the idea of radio jamming: that public frequencies can be pirated and subverted for independent communication, or to disrupt dominant frequencies. The Situationist International first made the comparison to radio jamming in 1968, when it proposed the use of guerrilla communication within mass media to sow confusion within the dominant culture. (Kalle Lasn, the founder of AdBusters magazine, wrote a book entitled Culture Jam, but the term predates his title.)UrbanDictionary


More History

Each bullet is its own unique instance of Culture Jamming. Since there can be no one definition of what it is to Culture Jam, each one of these examples shows a different side of the art.

· “Jamming is part of a historical continuum that includes Russian Samizdat (underground publishing in defiance of official censorship)



· The anti-fascist photomontages of John Heartfield



· The underground journalism of ’60s radicals such as Paul Krassner, Jerry Rubin, and Abbie Hoffman



· Yippie street theater such as the celebrated attempt to levitate the Pentagon



· Parody religions such as the Dallas-based Church of the Subgenius



· Workplace sabotage of the sort documented by Processed World, a magazine for disaffected data entry drones



· The ecopolitical monkeywrenching of Earth First!



· The random acts of Artaudian cruelty that radical theorist Hakim Bey calls “poetic terrorism” (“weird dancing in all-night computer banking lobbies…bizarre alien artifacts strewn in State Parks”)



· The insurgent use of the “cut-up” collage technique proposed by William Burroughs in“Electronic Revolution” (“The control of the mass media depends on laying down lines of association…Cut/up techniques could swamp the mass media with total illusion”)



· Subcultural bricolage (the refunctioning, by societal “outsiders,” of symbols associated with the dominant culture, as in the appropriation of corporate attire and Vogue model poses by poor, gay, and largely nonwhite drag queens).”


Courtesy of Mark Dery

The Forms of Culture Jamming

Subvertising - The production and distribution of anti-ads which attempt to turn the consumer’s attention in a different direction than the given media directs you.








Sniping - (Illegal) Late-night sneak attacks on public space advertisements.

Billboard Banditry - Or anti-promotions, scrawling graffiti on billboard ads in an attempt to inform.

Graffiti Art - Writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place.

Media Hoaxing - The fine art of hoodwinking journalists into covering exhaustively researched, elaborately staged fake articles.
Check Out More Hoaxes


Audio agitprop - Utilizes digital samplers to deconstruct media culture and challenge copyright law. For example, by taking clips from press conferences, speeches by politicians are used in a song in a manipulative manner.

This fun example of President Obama's speeches to Uptown Funk gives you an understanding of the jam.

Hacktivism - The use of computers and computer networks as a means of protest to promote political (or other) ends.
See RTMARK


Cybersquatting - (Illegal) The practice of registering names, especially well-known company or brand names, as Internet domains, in the hope of reselling them at a profit.

The Legalities

I can't pretend that all of this is legal, it isn't. This site is advertising. This site does not consist of legal advice. Information displayed here is general information, and accuracy is not guaranteed and No one should act upon any information contained here without the advice of professional legal counsel.


"Criminal property destruction in Pennsylvania is charged as criminal mischief. Common circumstances of this charge are vandalism, or damage resulting from other personal or domestic disputes, revenge, road rage, or other reckless behavior that damages another person’s physical property." - Get Lawyer Leads, Inc.

The link above gives you some general estimates and penalties for criminal mischief that would cover graffiti, sniping, billboard banditry.



There is no penalty for creating false media articles or manipulating tapes or videos into new media, however there are extensive penalties for breaking copyrights and therefore highly discouraged.



Computer hacking is a much more involved crime:


Penalties and Sentences

"The computer crimes defined by Pennsylvania statutes generally lead to charges as third degree felonies. State law permits a term of imprisonment for up to seven years upon conviction for a third degree felony.

In addition to a term of imprisonment, the potential punishment for a computer crime in Pennsylvania may also include restitution payable to the victims. Upon conviction, the defendant may need to repay the victim for the cost of repairs, lost profits, and the cost of data restoration." - statelaws.findlaw.com


Hacking is highly discouraged. I recommend using the internet as a database for information or finding others with similar ideas and always navigating within the law.

What's It All About?

Culture Jamming is political communication with the world and people around you. It presents a variety of different communication strategies that work the branded images and icons of consumer culture to make you and the people around you aware of surrounding problems and politics that warrant your attention.

All we're trying to do is strike a balance between commercial consumer values and the human interest in society.


Take a look at the sticker on the telephone pole, the graffiti on the wall, the pen inked into the paper you picked up. They might just be nonsense but look again because they might just be trying to inform you. Don’t be so quick to judge, all ink isn't vandalism.


"Growing numbers of observers contend that the dominant public role of our time has shifted from citizen to consumer. Indeed, respondents in polls typically cite entertainment, shopping, and other consumer activities as their top free time preferences." - CCCE




Jam Against Monopolies!

I don't have to tell you why you might be interested in joining the culture jamming movement. Odds are you've looked around and not liked what you've seen. Take a look below at this Kraft and Heinz label collection. Soon after they merge, grocery stores won't have a choice but to go with Kreinz because of the all-in-one deal they're bound to be offered. It just costs too much to go with a bunch of little providers when there's one provider of ALL things! At least, that's a grocery store's mentality.

You, the people, know better.




Now take a look at the Entertainment Sector

And these companies don't just own TV stations and movie studios. No, they own production companies, newspapers, radio stations, magazines, even music studios. These big entertainment names are making pure profit off of your hard earned dollar.

The Yes Men Fix The World

Let's talk about the realism of Culture Jamming actually helping to change the world. Because it's a pacifist movement where we share information and opinions over hostilities and violence there's a real lack of progress. However, we can't let that discourage our activist hearts. If you're anything like my generation, we're frustrated with the old men who are running this country into the ground and we just can't wait to inherit their positions.
There are many and more activist groups that you can join who do anything from petition to protest.The Food and Water Watch Non-Profit, "Works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainably produced."
Just by signing up for their newsletter you're informed of bills and petitions which you might choose to sign and be a part of. It's a small, peaceful way to make change. Not everything has to be hands-on as you're well aware that just donating to a cause helps and signing a petition can help more.

The Yes Men Fix The World

A movie made by two Activists centered around the idea that lies can tell the truth. What they do is a form of media hoaxing and performance art in an attempt to Culture Jam about 'doing the right thing.' These men only wait for the media to come to them and stage a show. They do push the boundaries of the law by lying about their connection to companies and spreading false information but the end result is that people are not harmed, simply duped. They spread awareness about issues that are otherwise brushed under tables and just not dealt with. The people who they talked to about being duped felt that it was a great thing what they were doing. They say what needs to be said.
As an example of Culture Jamming, you don't have to go as far as these guys do but you have to be a part of the movement if you want to see change. Now you know, there's as many ways to Jam as there are different types of people.