Crazy Old Aunts Deserve To Die

 'No one deserves to die' campaign is a series of six posters, suggesting that cat lovers, crazy aunts, hipsters, the genetically privileged, the smug, and the tattooed deserves to die, if they have lung cancer.You would have probably seen it on bus shelters, phone kiosks, in subway stations, in movie theaters. 

At first glance this advertisement seems to want to achieve and stimulate a discussion within the community and even the world through its controversial headlines and the underlying message beneath it. The explicit message of the ad appears to redefine and the common myths and stigma such as the association of tobacco and lung cancer, and creates an underlying statement that everyone and anyone can be diagnosed with lung cancer. It hopes that by creating this awareness, it would help the public not to discriminate, increasing the chances of early detection and no one deserves to die. But what this advertisement is actually saying is how we wish crazy old aunts would die, or we wouldn't care if they did.

It is very clear by the way she is dressed, her posture and her facial expression makes me as a reader dislike her. She doesn't seem friendly, with too much make-up and jewelries and especially with the glass of alcohol in her hand. She seems to be the 'black-sheep' of the family, the crazy old aunts you dislike and run away from at family gatherings and dinner parties. And someone you wouldn't care or even wish she passed away.

This series of advertisement is successful in making you wonder, do people actually really wish that cat lovers, crazy aunts, hipsters, the genetically privileged, the smug, and the tattooed deserve to die? These characters are ironic the ‘socially awkward’, which normal people would find it hard to connect to, or maybe even finding them weird. Which brings us back to the thesis, this advertisement is really about how we would wish crazy old aunts die, or wouldn't care if they did. 

Below is the Video of the Ad Campaign

ArchiDose, A Blog Review

A little introduction to those who may not have read ArchiDose, it is an architectural blog which gives reads a almost daily insight to the arts and architectural scene in New York and around the world. Started by Contemporary architect John Hill in 2004, ArchiDose was voted the top 10 Architectural Blogs in 2012.
He provides reviews, critiques and experiences of art and architectural projects in his posts through imagery, videos and writing. As a 'New-Yorker', he provides an interesting and exciting perspective to his readers.

John HILL, Author of Archidose

Even though Hill brings a daily insight of New York’s finest of the art, design and architecture scene, the main focus of the blog however, is how much diversity Hill has to offer. Hill, provides a wide variety of writing styles on his blog. They range from book reviews, personal experiences at art exhibitions, to the newest and coolest architectural project in town and case studies supported by statistical facts and data. Most of his posts in which Hill writes are explicit, with clear views and opinions expressed about a project or the subject of the post. However, there are a couple of posts every so often offering implicit messages, leaving readers to ponder about what he wrote. When making a standpoint or a view on his posts, Hill is careful to further explain and back up any claims or views with evidence through photographs, personal experiences, data, statistics, and interviews and so on.

Being a reader of this blog, a rather religious one i must add, it is definitely the visuals and also the content of his post which attracts me and draws me into reading more. His posts are short and direct. Yet honest and appealing. I would definitely encourage you to read ArchiDose and you don't even have to be in the arts or architecture industry. Even looking for a easy read after a long tiring day at work, ArchiDose is your blog to go to.