Decolonising Advertising
This practice-based PhD project argues that advertising is a form of colonization. For over 100 years western advertising agencies have been invading developing countries and promoting their clients brands, through the tools and techniques of advertising.
The project argues that contemporary 2D advertising broadcasts secondary messaging that re-enforces colonial concepts such as racial and class inequality and a neoliberal ideology that supports a ruling class. Empirical research examines what has been performed in the field of 2D visual communication from the construction of race through Pinturas de Castas that visually categorized peoples in colonial Mexico, to present day outdoor billboards for department store El Palacio De Hierro that consciously erase certain racial groups representing over 90 million Mexicans. This campaign is analysed through the research methodology of semiotics by applying Barthes’ ‘Myths’ theory, Crow’s ideas on how meaning is formed; and Skaggs’ metaphysics of visual perception.
Further research includes a theory framework that maps the history of key concepts such as Post-colonisation and Decolonization, with a focus on theorists Anzaldua, Drussel, who define colonization from a Latin American point of view, and Mignolo’s observations on decolonization through delinking knowledge are applied to advertising to see how that field can possibly be decolonized. This research also investigates how 2D advertising messages are constructed by registering the tools and techniques currently used by advertisers to create visual communication, leading to the main question that asks: How can the application of decolonized tools and techniques resist the racist spectacle in Mexican advertising?
The artistic practice aims to explore solutions to decolonize Mexican advertising through delinking knowledge. A 2D subversive campaign is designed by appropriating the détournement theory of the Situationist International (SI), to create messages out of decolonized tools and techniques. The campaign will consist of various messages painted on abandoned walls made up of slogans such as “We cannot be erased,” or current outdoor advertising for Palacio de Hierro that will be graffitied over through the technique which Mark Derry calls Guerrilla Semiotics. The campaign is broadcast in what Mark Fry terms Borderland, and post tested with the Mexican public resulting in a multimedia conversation discussed on over 8 media channels viewed by over 100,000 Mexicans.
This PhD through practice reveals that instead of being a top down process, advertising can be created from the bottom up, by taking what Audrey Lourde calls ‘the master’s tools’ and decolonizing them by collaboration with indigenous peoples. This practice is not solving the problem of decolonizing but is making a small contribution to this area and this contribution will take a theoretical technique of subversive strategies.
With the creation of this project ‘Decolonizing Advertising’ the research will be of use to others currently engaging on the subjects of ‘decolonizing the internet’ and ‘decolonizing the curriculum’ in Europe and Latin America. The processes and undertakings are different, and each context requires a different tool or technique, however they may intersect to create a global decolonial context.
Key details
School, Centre or Area
Supervisors
Gallery
More about Carl
Biography
Carl W. Jones is a Senior Lecturer in PR & Advertising at the University of Westminster, and is recognized globally as an authority on advertising, being invited to 12 countries to give seminars: Clio’s Asia, Marketing Magazine Toronto, El Ojo Buenos Aires, and recently at Syracuse University USA, & El Colegio de Mexico in Mexico City. In total he has won over 500 awards and recognitions for his creative work including Cannes Lions. The mass media such as BBC; The Telegraph; BBC Mundo: Periodico Reforma, interview Jones on publicity and its effects on society. His newspaper articles on Racism & Classism in Mexican advertising have had over 7,000 shares on Facebook alone. Carl is also a founding member of the research group @LASAWw Latin American Studies At Westminster, and issue editor for the WPCC media journal on Advertising for the Human Good.
Jones’sPhD research at the Royal College of Art on “Decolonizing Advertising,” sets out to redefine the concept of advertising through his analysis of the political economy of race in Mexico, and its manifestation through the spectacle of advertising.
Semiotics is Jones’s preferred method to investigate meaning in visual communication, both digital and analogue. His papers on: Branding; Design; Digital Gaze; Advertising tools & Techniques; have been presented at global conferences, and published in a variety of languages in Europe and Latin America.
Carl uses "Art Through Research" as a method to investigate and create subversive artworks. His pieces have been exhibited in galleries and museums in Mexico City, Toronto, Dubai, London, and others. Jones’s artwork is part of the ‘Fundacion Televisa Art Collection’ one of the largest in Latin America.
Degrees
BDes in Advertising & Design from the OCAD U Ontario College of Art & Design University in Toronto, Canada.
M.A. in Communication and Culture from York University and Ryerson University, both located in Toronto, Canada,.
Awards
In total Carl has won over 500 awards and recognitions for his creative work including Cannes Lions, London International Advertising Festival; Clios; Circulo Creativo de Mexico; Art Directors Club, and other leading advertising award shows.
Nominated for "Excellence in Teaching" at OCAD University, and University of Westminster 2016, & 2018 and 'Educational Experience Award' in 2020.
Awarded Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) through the Professional Recognition and Enhancement Scheme for Teaching (Prestige)
Exhibitions
-Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT), Tijuana Mexico. 2022.
Imagines para ver-te.(Racism in Mexico.)
Invited to exhibit 4 paintings as part of group show.
Artist: El Crayolas. Carl W. Jones
-Centro de las Artes San Augstin.Oaxaca, Mexico. October2022
Exhibir el racism en Mexico Exhibiting Racism in Mexico.)
Invited to exhibit 4 paintings as part of group show.
Artist: El Crayolas. Carl W. Jones
-Espacio MonCa (Enlazarte) Centro Histórico, Mexico City. Jan 11-30, 2020.
La Mirada Digital. Exhibition of 7 photographic images digitally printed in ink:
1 meter x 48 cm plus projection of videos ranging from 3 mins to 7 mins.
Artist: Carl W. Jones
-Cultural and Scientific Association (NADWA) UAE. Emirates International Poster Festival (EIPF) Dubai.
This is the first-of-its-kind creative platform in the MENA region developed to showcase and celebrate
contemporary poster design from around the world. Asked to submit a poster design on ‘Tolerance’
to be exhibited Nov 11-16 2019 in Dubai. Designer: Carl W. Jones.
-Cracking the Established Order. De Montfort University, Leicester, U.K.
June 27, 28.2019. Digital Gaze. Exhibition of 7 photographic images digitally printed in ink: 1 meter x 48 cm. https://www.cteo.space
Artist: Carl W. Jones.
-Chalton Gallery. London, UK. September 15 – 27, 2017.
Exposicion Pirata: Fase 1. Pirate Exhibition: Phase 1.
Group show of art from the Casa de la cultura San Rafael in Mexico City.
Artist: Carl W. Jones
-Casa de la Cultura San Rafael. Mexico City. July 22- 26 2016.
Exposicion Pirata: Fase 1. Pirate Exhibition: Phase 1.
Solo show of art interventions in London, Toronto and Mexico City.
Artist: Carl W. Jones
-Museo de la Ciudad de Mexico/Museum of the City of Mexico. Mexico City.
May 16- September 2016. Imagines para ver-te.(Racism in Mexico.)
Invited to exhibit 4 paintings as part of group show.
Artist: El Crayolas. Carl W. Jones
-OCAD University, Office of the president gallery.
September 15 2013 – November 2015.
Group show. Work selected: El Crayolas ‘The News’
Artist: Carl W. Jones
-Miami Ad School, Mexico, D.F.
December 17 2013.
Individual show presenting : El Crayolas Project 2005-2013
Artist: Carl W. Jones
-La Quinonera. Coyoacan, Mexico, D.F.
August 10 - 23 2013.
Individual show presenting: El Crayolas Project 2005-2013
Artist: Carl W. Jones
-OCADU gallery, Toronto, Canada.
Ads for People: Selling Ethics in the Digital Age, OCADU onsite gallery.
February-May 2013.
Group show. Work selected: 3 x Michou Mau 'posters' & United Nations 'ashtray'.
Artist/Creative director: Carl W. Jones
-Nuit Blanche (Unofficial), Toronto, October 2010.
“Canada’s largest 3D wall mapping projection” against Union train Station.
Downtown Toronto.
Creative Director: Carl W. Jones.
Publications
2021 (TBC) Multidisciplines on Racism in Mexican Media. "Enfoques multidisciplinarios sobre el racismo en los medios de comunicación en México" Book chapter titled ‘Decolonizing Advertising’. Published by a Universidad Iberoamericana (CDMX).
2021 (TBC) Applied Pedagogies in Higher Education. Real World Learning. Solent University Learning Institute.UK.Chapter 9: Final Project PR & Advertising. Palgrave Macmillan.
2021 (TBC.) Los Publicistas en Mexico. Advertising Creatives in Mexico. Published by the Universidad de la Communicacion. Mexico City. Wrote the Introduction, and a chapter on the History of Advertising in Mexico.
2021 Expresiones contemporáneas del racismo en México. Cuerpos, medios y educación. Chapter title: Racismo y classismo en la publicidad Mexicana. Published in Mexico by: Centro de Investigaciones Interdisciplinarias en Ciencias y Humanidades (CEIICH) de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM); May 2
Universidad Pedagógica Nacional (UPN); Centro Universitario del Norte (CUNorte; de la Universidad de Guadalajara (UgD) ISBN: 978-607-571-132-4
2019 Meanings & Co.: the Interdisciplinarity of Communication, Semiotics and Multimodality, within the series Numanities - Arts and Humanities in Progress.
Publishing house - Springer International. Germany.
Title of Chapter: Racism & Classism in Mexican Advertising: An Exhibition of Visual Messaging.https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319919850#otherversion=9783319919867
2019 Semiotics & Visual Communication ΙΙΙ, Cultures of Branding. Cambridge Scholars Publishers. UK. Title of Chapter: Personal branding ‘Encoding a personal brand through semiotics: a case study.’ https://www.cambridgescholars.com/semiotics-and-visual-communication-iii?fbclid=IwAR3D6NTz3EgPgLG6FJT_xKrUMtmWULx9QxQqP6xf4gM8zMkYTelfoBMzvG4
2014 Ads Send Out More Than the Client’s Message.
Chapter 17 pp121-128 in the advertising book by Creative Social. Hacker, Maker, Teacher, Thief: Advertising's Next Generation. (2014). London. Available on lulu.com & Amazon.com.
2013 Proyecto El Crayolas Project 2005-2013. El Crayolas Art project book is published to coincide with art exhibit. Wrote and designed the book in Mexico City. Printed by Blurb.com . USA. (2013)
Research outputs
2021 Proceedings of 14th World Congress of Semiotics. Trajectories. Publishing house - Mouton De Gruyter. Title of paper: Racismo y Classismo en la publicidad Mexicana. Published Feb 4th 2021.https://iass-ais.org/proceedings2019/
2020 Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture Jones, C. W. (2020). Advertising and the Way Forward.XX(X), 1–5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16997/wpcc.392
2020 Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture. Jones, C. W. (2020). The World According to Dave Trott: An Interview. XX(X), 1–12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16997/wpcc.393
2020 The International Journal of Creative Media Research: Re-Envisioning the Role of Creative Media Research. Special issue on Cracking the Established Order Conference. This paper “Interrogating Democracy in the Digital Gaze” accompanies the 2019 exhibition ‘Digital Gaze’ at De Montfort University, Leicester, U.K. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33008/IJCMR.2020.01
| Issue 4 | June 2020 https://www.creativemediaresearch.org/post/interrogating-democracy-in-the-digital-gaze
2019 Semiotics & Visual Communication ΙΙΙ, Cultures of Branding. Cambridge Scholars Publishers. UK. Title of Chapter: Personal branding ‘Encoding a personal brand through semiotics: a case study.’ https://www.cambridgescholars.com/semiotics-and-visual-communication-iii?fbclid=IwAR3D6NTz3EgPgLG6FJT_xKrUMtmWULx9QxQqP6xf4gM8zMkYTelfoBMzvG4
2016 Proceedings of 12th World Congress of Semiotics. Between Tradition and Innovation. Publishing house - Mouton De Gruyter.
Title of paper: Advertising tools & techniques applied to the brand Mr. Clean. http://www.iass-ais.org/proceedings2014/articles.php
Conferences
2021 ICSVC. 4th International Conference on Semiotics and Visual Communication 2021. Cyprus University of Technology, Lemesos, Cyprus. Analysis of the Advertising tools and techniques in Mexico City . Nov 11-13 http://icsvc-conference.com
2021 Semiosis in Communication. Culture, Communication, and Social Change. Bucharest Romania. May 26-28.
Panel Moderator: Meaning and Structure in Marketing & Advertising. Also presenting paper titled: Decolonizing Advertising. May 27
Master Lecture moderator Sat May 29. Evripides Zantides & Sonia Androu: Social change and the semiotics of the 2004 referendum advertisements in the Republic of Cyprus.
2021 Ibero University. Mexico City. KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Departamento de Comunicación Iinvite you to the first colloquial on racism in the Mexican media. Descolonizando la publicidad. April 29.
Via zoom to anyone in Mexico: https://ibm.co/3rgNaOH .
2021 Critical Race and Media Studies Flash Symposium. How activist art can decolonize advertising. Feb 5. Ryerson University, York University, Toronto. Online.
2020 ICSVC. 4th International Conference on Semiotics and Visual Communication (SVC) “Decolonizing advertising through the analysis of tools and techniques appropriated to design myths”. Cyprus University of Technology, Lemesos, Cyprus 13th until the 15th of November 2020. http://icsvc-conference.com
2020 Mediating, Constructing and Dismantling Race(ism) CAMRI. University of Westminster. Decolonizing Advertising. 17 April. Changed (TBC due to Corona Virus)
2020 History of Advertising Trust (HAT). London SouthBank University. Educational Summit. Invited participant of 15 selected guests who attended the day long workshop event. Feb 19.
2019 Trajectories 14th World Congress of Semiotics 2019. Buenos Aires, Argentina. Title of paper Racismo y clasismo en la publicidad Mexicana. First time research is presented in Spanish language. Sept 9-13. https://iass-ais.org/proceedings2019/
2019 Cracking the Established Order. De Montfort University, Leicester, U.K. June 27,28. Interrogating the Digital Gaze. Paper delivered. Published 2020. https://www.creativemediaresearch.org/post/interrogating-democracy-in-the-digital-gaze
2018 CREAM. Winter Phd symposium . "Transitioning Advertising” University of Westminster. Dec 13. London. U.K.
2018 Fields of Dreams Symposium. RCA. Royal College of Art. Research Panel member discussing latest MPhil/Phd research into Transitioning Advertising. White City Place. London. Oct 30.
2018 Researcher Network. Research & Visibility conference. CREAM. University of Westminster. June 20. London. U.K. "Personal branding: ‘Encoding a personal brand through semiotics: a case study.”
2018 International Conference Semiosis in Communication: Differences and Similarities, June 14-16, Bucharest, Romania. "Personal branding: ‘Encoding a personal brand through semiotics: a case study.” I was also Moderator of Visual Communication, Semiotics and Consumer Culture in this session.
http://centrucomunicare.ro/semiosis/semiosisc_2018.html
2017 ICSVC. 3rd International Conference on Semiotics and Visual Communication 2017. Cyprus University of Technology, Lemesos, Cyprus. Personal branding. Nov 3-5 http://icsvc-conference.com
2016 Semiosis in Communication. Bucharest, Romania. Racism and Classism in Mexican Advertising. Paper and ‘research through art’ presented 16-18 June.
2014 UAAC annual conference. Toronto. October 24 2014. Carl Jones, Chair of panel. Advertising Theory: interception between practice and scholarship. Introducing Ad Theory.
2014 SEMIO 12th World Congress on Semiotics, New Bulgarian University, Sofia.
Advertising tools & techniques applied to the brand Mr. Clean. Presented paper during refereed conference proceedings. Marketing Semiotics Roundtable. Sept 20 2014.