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hundred. of publicity Imag ...V .., day of our IIv.,
N,o oth.r kind of I....g. confronte u o frequ.ntly.
. In no oth.r form of eocl.ty In hl.to.., .... th.r.
b..n .uch a concentration of Imag....uch a denelty of vleual
m....g... .
One m.y remember or forget'th... m........ but
brl.fly on. 18k.. them Innd for. momant they edmul.t. the
lmaglnadon by w.yof .Ith.r memo.., or pactadon. Th.
publicity Im.ge belong. to the mom.nt. W.... It w. turn
...
129

...:;;.:;::..

e ...... e. we turn e comer. e. e vehlcl............ Or w....
It on e talevl.lon ec....n whllet welting for the comm.rclel
break to .nd. Publicity 1m.... el80 belong to the moment In
the n that th.y mud be contlnuelly renewed end made'
up-to-dete. Yat th.y nav.r .peek of the prea.nt. Often th.y
refer to the put end elway. they .peek of the future.
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We ere now 80 accuetomad to being add....._
the.e lmagee we .carcaly notlca th.lr total Impact. A
par.on mey notlca e partlculer lmag. or piece of Info,metlo..
bacau.. It correeponde to .ome particular Interaet h.
w. eccept the total eyetem of publicity I.........
e" ....._t of cll..... For ......... the fact 'IIIiIt,theee .........
belong to the ....._ but epeek of the future prod..-....
_enge effect which hu bactNne 80 femillar that we
notIca It. Uauelly It I. WB who ..... the Image - welklng. ....
treveiling. turning e pege; on the tv acreen It Ie .omewhet,
dlffer.nt but even then w. ere theoretically the active egent
we can look ewey, turn down the .ound. make .ome coffee. ,:.f\It i
Yat dplte thl., one .... the Impraulon that publicity Image.
era contlnuelly ......ng ue, Ilk. e.pre treln. on th.lr wey to'
ome dletent termlnu We er. etatlc; th.y ere dynamic - until
the new.pep.r I. thrown ewey. the t.levlelon progremme
continue. or the poeter I. poRed over. . " .! ,:
Publicity I....uelly explained end Juedfled .. e <,ifI'
CCQnP8tItIve medium which ultlmataly benaflte the public
" 130
I

con.um.r) end the moet effIcI.nt menufacture,. - end thu. the
netlonal economy. It I. cloeely related to carteln Idee. about
freedom: freedom of cholca for the purch.uer: freedom of
enterprl for the manufecturer. The greet hoarding. end the
publicity neo... of the cltlea of ceplteU.m ere the Immedlete
vI.Ib.le .Ign of 'The F.... World'.
,..... ,',. . For II'IIUIy In E8etern Europe eucIIl........ In the
Weet .um up whIrt they In the Eeet lack. Publicity, It I.
thought" off.,. e free choice.
'. It I. true that In publicity one brand of
manufactu.... one,finn" competae with _other; but It I. el80
true that every publicity Image -'lr... end _hence. every
!A
other. Publicity I. not merely _ .......bly of competing
l'
It I. a language In lteelf which .. alway. being u....
make the .... general propcNI8l. WIthin pubUcity. cholcee I
Offered between thl. c....m and that cream, that car end
Iia car, but publicity .. a .yetem only mak.. a .Ingle
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proPoul., .. ';
It propo... to each of u. that we tr_etorm
o"'''''v... or our IIv... by buying 80mathlng more. .
. ' Thl. more. It propoee.. will make ua In _me
way.rlcher - even though we will be poorer by heving epant our
money.
Publicity perauedu Ua of deb a traneformetlon
by ahowlng u. people who have apparently been tren.formed
end are... a re.ult" The etete of being envied la whet
COMtItutee glamour. And ......lIclty I. the proce.. of
__.l.......0.... \'\. .
t6' 131
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with the pl...ura or benellta to bnJoyed from the thing. It '.'
actv.rtI.... PubliCIty I. affectIv. precl..1y ........ It feeda , .... ,
upon the reel. CIothaa. food, cera. bathe, aunahln.':t,,:
ara reel thing. to be .nJoyed In th.......v... Publicity by
working on a natural appetite for pI_re. But It cannot offer' h,
the reel object of pI_ure end there Ie no aonvlnclng .. "",.... I.i.t.;.
aublltltute for a pl_re In that own tennL'
more coMlnclngly publicity conveya the of baIIIl.
In a warm, clatent ..... the more the ......tor-buyer
become awar. that he Ie hundred. of mll_ away from
... and the more remote the chance of bathing In It will ...
to him. Thl. I. why publicity can never reelly afford to be
the product or opportunity It Ie propo.lng to the buy.r who'i.
not yet .nJoylng It. Publicity Ie nev.r a celebration of a "V
pl.aaure-ln-lta.lf. Publicity Ie alway. about the buyer.
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It offera him an lmag. of hlmeelf made glemorou. by the '!
product or opportunity It I. trying to eeli. The I............
mek_ him .nvlou. of hlma.1f a. he might be. Yet whet mak
thla ..If-whlch-h.-mlght-bnvlablel The .nvy of oth.r..
PubRcIty I. about .000al relatlona. not objecta. Ita proml.. I.',
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not of pi_uN, but of happlne: happln....Judged from the
outald. byoth.r Th. heppln... of b.lng .nvled I. glamour.
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132
a.lng .nvled I. a eolltary form of rea.aurenee. It
d.p.nda preelly upon not .harlng your .xperl.nce with tho
who .nvy you. You are o....rved with Intereet but you do not
obeerv. with Intereet - If you do. you will become lanvlabla.
In thl. reepect the .nvled are Ilk. bureeucreta; tha more
Imp.reonel they are, the greeter the lilualon (for th.m.alva.
and for oth.re) of th.lr power. Th. powar of the glamorou.
ra.ld In th.lr .uppo.... happln...: the power of the
buraaucret In authority. It I. thl. which explain.
the --at" unfocu.... look of, eo meny glamour lmeg Th.y
look out over the looka of .nvy which auateln them.
133

---..

Th. epectator-buy.r la meant to .nvy heraelf
aha will become If aha buya the product. .h. la meant to
im.glne heraelf tr.n.formed by the product Into .n obleat of
envy for oth.........nvy whleb will then JuatIfy h.r loving
hers.lf. On. could put thla ...oth.r way: the publicity 1m....
ateel. h.r lov. of herlf ...he I....nd off.rs It beck to h.r
for the prlc. of the product.
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, Doe. the I.nguag. of publldty ..... anything In
common with that of 011 painting which. until the Inv.ntlon of
the cam..... dominated the European way of ...Ing during, .,
fourcenturl_l , 1.,..')" ' ., . H
It la one of thoae ....eetlons which almply ........'1,
to be _ked for the to beco.... clear. Th.re direct ....
continuity. Only Inlareata of cufblral prestige hav. o_...red,i'l
It. At the ..m. d ..... daeplte the continuity, th.re la If PIP.,ound
which It la no .... IrnpoIUnt to ......Ine. til' J !,;., I', ,.". .
Th.re .re many direct referencea In publicity to ,'. '
works of .rt from the peat. .ometI...... who" I....,. ....
frenk peadcha of ...II-known palntI....


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Publicity Im.g_ ott.n u...culpture. or p.lntlnga
to ..nd .lIure or .uthorlty to their own m........ Fr.....d oil
painting. ott.n h.ng In ahop window. _ part of th.lr dl.pl.y.
Any work of .rt 'quoted' by publicity ..rY two
purpo.... Art la algn of afflu.nce; It belong. to the good
life; It la part of the furnlahlng which the world glv to the ,
rich .nd the beautiful.
But work of .rt .Ieo auggeate culturel
.uthorlty,. form of dignity, .v.n of wisdom, which Iuperlor
, to any vul.............llnlareat; .n 011 painting belonga to the
cultural h.rItage; It la reminder of whet It mean. to be
cultivated European. And eo the quoted work of .rt (.nd thla la
why It la eo uaaful to publicity) ..,a two .Imoat contr.dlctory
thl..... at th....... time: It denotae wealth.nd splrltu.llty: It
Impl... that the purchue bel... propoaed la both luxury and
cufblr.1 v.lu.. Publldty haa In fact understood the tr.dltlon of
the 011 painting mora thoroughly than moat .rt hlstorl.ns. It
. h .. graped the Implications of the relationship between the
work of .rt .nd Ita apeotetor-owner and with th... It trI.. to
persuad. and flatter tha apeotetor-buyer.
The continuity, howev.r, between 011 pelntlng and
publicity .... f.r deeper th.n the quoting' of .paclflc
palntlnga. Publicity rei'" to v.ry .......xtant on the
.......ag. of 011 painting. It apeake In the ...... voice .bout the
_. thlnga. Somatlmaa the vl.uaI correapondencea .re .0
cloae that It I. poaeIbi. to pl.y ....... of '.napI' - putting
.im_Id.ntlcallm..... or detail. of I.......Id. by -I....
135 \
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It I. not. how.v.r. Ju.t at th.l.v.1 of .xact pictorial
corre.pond.nce that,t.h. continuity I . Important: It I. at the
l.v.1 of .thUI of .Ign. u
.Compare the Imeg.. of publicity .nd palntlng.la
thl. book. or tak picture magazine. or w.lk down mart
.hOpplng..,...t loOking at the window end th8n tura
ov.r die p.g.. of.an lIIuatratad muaau,.. catalogue. end notice
how almli.rly ............re conv.yed by the two mad... A
.y.tem.atJc .taidy."aad. to be m8ci. of thl H.re w. can do no
mqr. th.n Indicate. f.w .rae. wh.r. the .Imll.rity of the
d.vlcend .1.... 1. partlcul.rly .trlklng.
Th. gture. of mod.l. (m.nn.quln.) .nd
mJtholo....cal flg.ure.
ro....ntlc u of nature (Ieav... tre wat.r)
to cr.t. a pl.ce; wh.re Innocenc. can b. refound.
Thotlc .nd no.talglc .ttr.ctlon of the
.
Th....... tek.nup to denote atereotype. of
.. / WlO.....: ......... ..,other ' ......onna). " . :
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f,ae-Wheellng eecratarY (actraaa. ml")'
pertect hoat... (.pectator.,;owae(. .
....obJeCt (V.nue. nym.ph ...rprl....)te. "
Th. epeel.1 ...i..1 .mp....l. glv." to wom.n.- ','
_esa. '. ..1 ,
Th. materiel. particularly u.ed to Indlcat. luxury:
.ngr.ved m.tel. fur poll.h.d I.ath.r. ,tc.
Th. g..turend .mbracea of lov..r'r.nged
frontally for th. b.neflt of the .ptiCtetor.
Th..... off.rlng a new IIf.. . ,,'"':"'"
Th. phyalcal .tance of m.n conv.ylng w.alth and
virility.
Th. treatment of dl.tance by perapectlve
off.rlng my.t.ry.
The .quatlon of and ..cea... :
Th. m.n knight (horman) become motorl.t.
Why doe. publicity dep.nd .0 heavily upon the
vl.u.1 I.ngu.g. of 011 painting?
138
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Publicity I. the culture of the con.um.r .ocl.ty.
_, It prop.gat through Im.g thet .oci.ty'. bell.f In Itif.
: There .rv.r.1 ron. why th im.g u the '.ngu.g.
. of 011 painting
011 painting. before It. wnythlng .1 wa. a
. celebration of private property. An art-form it d.rived from
the prlncipl. that you ale what you have.

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It I mlatek. to think of publicity .upplantlng
the visual art of pOatR.na.I...nca Europ It I. the It
moribund form of that art.
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Publicity I.. In nce. noatelglc. It h to 11 the
pt to the futur. It cannot lta.lf .upply thtand.rd. of It.
own cl.lm And .0 .11 Ita r.f.r.nca. to qu.llty .r. bound to b.
r.tro.p.ctlvnd tr.dltlon.l. It would I.ck bothconfld.nc.
.nd ct.diblllty If It ude .trlctly cont.mporary I.ngu.g.
139


Both madla uImllar, highly tactll. mnn. to play upon the
epactator'n of acquiring the real thing which the image
.how In both ca... hi. f..llng that h. can almo.t touch
what i. In the image r.mind. him how h. might or do..
po the raal thing.
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Publicity ..... to tum to Ita own edvantage tha
traditional education of the ..arag. epectator-buy.r. What he
ha. I..rnt at echool of hl.tory. mythology, poetry can be uead '
in the manufacturing of glamour. Clgara can b. Hid In the
nama of a King, underw.ar In connection with the Sphinx, a
n.w ctlr by r.ference to the .tatu. of a country houaa.
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In the lenguag. of 011 painting thee. vague hl.torical
or poetic or moral raf.r.ncaa ara alway. praeant. Th. fact
that th.y er. Impracl.. anc! ultlmataly m..nlngl... I. an
advantag.: they ehould not be underatandabl.. they .hould
m.rely b. r.mlnl.cent of cuHurai I....n. half-I..rnt.
Publicity mak all hlatory mythical, but to do.o
it need. a vl.ual languag. with hiatorical dlm.natoM.
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....tly. a t.chnlcal d.v.lopm.nt mad. It ney to
tran.late the languag. of oil painting Into publicity cllch6
Thi. wee the Inv.ntion, about fifteen ynra ago, of ch.ap
colour photography. Such photography can reproduca the
colour end tuture and tangibility of obl.cta ee only 011 paint
had bun abl. to do befora. Colour photography I. to the
PB\,r-buyer what 011 paint wee to the .pectator-owner.
140
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v.t. dplt. thl. continuity of languag., the
function of publicity I. v.ry dlffer.nt from that of the 011
painting. Th ..,.ctetor-buy.r .tand. In a v.ry differ.nt
{ ..Iation to the world from the .pectator-own.r
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Th. 011 .,.Idng .howed what Its owner w
Ireedy .nJoylng .mong hi. po.....lonnd hi. w.y of IIf It
coneolldated hi. own .ene. of hi. own v.lu It .nhanced his
vlsw of hlm..lf .. hI......y w It beg.n with f.cts, the
facts of hi. Ilf.. Th .,.Indng. embelll.h.d the interior In which
he actu.lly lived.
The purpose of publicity I. to make the ....ctator
marglnelly dlnatlsfled with hi. p....ent way of life. Not with
the way pt ilfe of sOcIety" but with hi. own within It. It
suegeats that If he buy. what It I. offering., hi. IIf. will become
better. It offers him .n I........,... .1ttIrnatIve to what h. I.. - -,
...,
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fi Th.oIl painting wu add........ to those who made
money out of the market. Publicity I. add........ to those who
conatltute the m a r k . ~ to the .pectator-buyer who IIeo the
consumer-producer from whom profits .re made twice over
.s work.r .nd then .. buyer. The only place. reladv.1y free of
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publicity .r. the qu.rter. of the v.ry rich; their mon.y I. thel...
to keep.
142
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All publicity work. upon .nxlety. The sum of
everything I. mon.y, to gat money I. to ov.rcome .nxlety
Alternatively the .nxlety on which publicity pI.y. I. the fear
that having nothing you will be nothing.
Derek diedbroke.
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Mon.y I. life. Not In the .en that without
money you starve. Not In the .ense that capital giv on.
c.... power ov.r the .ntlr. Ilv.. of enother cI.... But in the
...... that money I. the token of, end the key to" .v.ry hum.n
capacity. Th. power to spend mon.y I. the power to Uve.
According to the legends of publicity" those who leek the
pow.r to spend mon.y become literally fecal.... Tho.. who
have the power become lov.bl
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143

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product or ..nlae. But tIIIa .exueUtr Ie never free I" ItaeH; It
I symbol for ..........ng ............ to be .....er ... It: the
good life In which you caD ..., whatever JOu ... abl&:
.
to buy I. the ..m. thing .. being _ually deaI...blti ..
ocCaalonally thl. Ie the explicit meuag. of publlalty .. In the
B.rclaycard .dv.rtleament .bova. Usually It I. the 1...,llcIt
me...... I If you .... able to buy thl. product you iwlll be '
lovabl If you cannot buy It. you will be leeaIOVablJ.;.:
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For publicity the preeant I. by definition .
Insufficient. The 011 painting ... thought of ... pe.....nent
racord. One of the pleasurea painting ..eva to Ita owner w..
the thought that It would convay the I....... of hie praeant to
the fUlu... of hi. daacandanta. Thus the 011 painting w
natur.lly painted In the preeant t.nee. Th. palnt.r painted
what ... befo... him. .Ither In reality or In Imagination. The
,
,L publicity Im.g. which Iph.mer.1 u... only the future ten...
With thl. you will become dealrable' In thaaa .urroundlng
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11 your relatlon.hlps will become happy .nd radiant. "
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Publicity principally addraaead to the working
cIaaa tend. to proml... paraonal transformation through the
function of the partlcul.r product It I. _ling (Clnderell.);
... publicity proml.... transfo.....tlon of
relatlon.hlpa through. gener.1 atm.......... created by.n
eneambl. of' (Th. Enchanted P.lace).
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Publicity .peak. In the future tenae and yet the
achlev.ment of thl. future I nd....ly d.f.rred. How then
does publicity remain credlbl. - or credlblnough to ...rt the
influ.nce It does1 It r.mains credlbl. b.cau the truthfuln
of publicity I. Judged, not by the real fulfllm.nt of It. proml...,
but by the rel.vanca of Ita fanta.... to thoae of the .p.ctator
t:tuy.r. Ita ...entlal application I. not to reality but to day-
dr.ama. .
To und.rstand thl. bett.r w. must go back to the
notion of glamouf.
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Glamour I. a modem Inv.ntlon. In the heyday
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of the 011 painting It did not I.t. Ideaa of grace, .I.gance,
authority amount.d to something .pparentlyalmllar but
fundam.ntally dlff.rent.
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glamorou., becaua. aha I. not p....nted _ .....1abI. and
. th.refore happy. She may be Hen _ wealthy, beautiful,
.. ' taI.nted, lucky. But her qualltl .. are her own and have ......
r.cognized _ What ahe I. doe. not .ntlr.ly d.pend upon
oth.r. wanting to be Ilk. h.r. She not pur.ly the creature of
oth.rs' .nvy - which la how, for ampl., Andy Warhol
pre..qta Marilyn Monroe.

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Glamour cannot axlst without parsonal .oclal
envy being a common and wlda.pread amotion. Tha Industrial
.ociety which h.. moved toward. democracy and than stopped
half way Is tha Id..1aoclaty for such an .motion.
Tha pur.ult of Individual happlnaaahas b.en acknowledged ..
a universal right. Yet tha .xlstlng .oclal condition. make the
individual feel pow.rI.... Ha Ilva. In the between
what h. Is and what h. would lik. to be. EIth.r ha th.n
becoma. fully conscious of the contradiction and Ita cau....
nd ao Joins the political struggl. for. full d.mocr.cy which
antalls. amongst othar things. the overthrow of capltallam; or
al.a ha lives. continually subject to en envy which"
compounded with hianae of powerl...n.... dlaaolva. Into
recurrent day-clreama.
It Is thl. which mak.. It ......bl. to understand
ii, I why publicity remalDS credible. Th...... between what
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publicity actually offers and the future It proml....
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corresponds with the gap between what the .pectator-buy.r
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feel. hlm",f to be and wlUat 1M would Ilk. to be. Tha two gap.
b.com. ona; and lnatelld of the slngl. gap baing bridged by ,_ '..1;
action or Ilvad;exparience.1t Is flll.d with glamorou. daY-'i ':'!..
dream... . . . ... ',' . '.' '::.'" :+:1
. ' - . The proceaa I. oft.n relnforcad by working; >!ri.tl'i!\'!;'"J j-;'
.'.,;.
condltlODS. .,...., ". i I
Th. Intermlnabl. prent of meanlngl working
hours I. 'bal.ncad' by a dreamt future In which Imaginary
activity r.places tha palvlty of the moment. In hi. or h.r
day-dreams the paaaiv. work.r becom the actlv. consum.r.
Tha working .elf envl.. the consuming salf.
.0two dream. are the ..me. Soma are
Instantaneous. others prolonged. Th. dream I. alway.
personal to the "'m.r. PubUcity does not manufacture the
dream. All thet It doe. Is to propose to each on. of u. that w.
ara not yat envlabla - yet could b

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Publlcltyh_ another Important .ocIal function.
. The fact that thl. function has not been P........ a. a purpo
by those who make and u.. publicity In no way .....n. Ita
, .Ignlflcance. Publicity tum. consumption Into ub.tltut. for
; d.mocracy. The eholea of what one eate (or wears or drlv)
tak.. the place of algniflcaDt political choice. Publicity help.
to mask and compen..te for all that I. undemOCfatlc within
society. And It alao mask. what I. happ.nlng In the rt of the
world.
Publicity add. up to kind of phllo.ophlcal
.y.t.m. It explainverythlng In Ita own term It Intarprets
th.world.
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The entire world becomes a setting for the
fulfilment of publiclty's proml.e of the good life. The world
smUesat us. It offers itself to us. And because everywhere is
imagined as offering Itself to ua. everywhere Is more or less '.
the same.
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Publicity can translate even revolution Into Its
own terms.
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. ,c . The contrast betw..n publicity's Interpretation of
the world and the world's actual condition Is a very stsrk one,
and this sometimes becomes evident In the colour magazines
which deal with news stories. Overleaf Is the contents page of
such a
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Thhock of .uch coMr..ta I. co...lderabl.: not
only becau of the coexletence of the two worldhown. but
1.. becau of the cynlcl.m of the culture which .how. th.m
on. abov. the oth.r. It can be argued thet the Juxtaposition of
lmeg" wa. not planned. Neverth.l... the text" the
photog...ph. tak.n In Pekleten, the photograph. tak.n for the
adv.rtlm.nta, the .dltlng of the mag_ln., the layout of the
publicity, the printing of both, the fact that adv.rd,.. pag
and n.w. pag.. oannot b. co-ordlnated - all th... are
producad by the ..me culture.
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It I. not" howev.r. the moral &hock of the contreet
which ndmpha.lzlng. Adv.rd..... th.mlv can take
account of the .hock. Th. Advertisers Weeldv (3 March 1972)
r.porte that eom. publicity firm.. now awar. of the comm.rclal
dang.r of .uch unfortunate Juxtapoeltlon. In n ...
mag_Ina., are d.cldlng to u I... bra.h, more .ombr.
Imag, often In black and white rather than colour. What we
nd to re.llz. I. what .uch contr..ta reveal about the nature
of publicity.
Publicity Iuentlally .ventl.,.. It .xtend. Ju.t ..
far a. nothing .... I. happening. For publicity all real .v.nta
are exceptional and happen only to atrange.... In the Bangia
Dh photograph.. the evente were tragic and dletant. But the
contraet would hav. been no I... eterk If they had bn .v.nta
near at hand In Darry or Birmingham. Nor Ie the contreet
nacee..rlly dependent upon the .vente being tragic. If th.y are
tragic. th.lr tragedy al.rte our moral eenee to the contreet. V.t
If the .v.nta w.re Joyou. and If they w.re photograph.d In
direct and un.t.reotyped way the contreet would be Ju.t a.
great.
Publicity, .Ituated In a future continually deferred,
.xclud the prea.nt and .0 .lImlnatee all becoming, all
d.v.lopm.nt. Experience I. Impoulbl. within It. All that'
happ.n.. happ.n. outeld. It. ,,'
, Th. faci that publlell; Ie .......... would be
Imm.dlately obvlouelf It did not uee a language which mak..
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of tangibility an .vent In Itself. Ev......ng publicity ehowe Ie
th.r. awaiting acquleltlon. Th. act of acquiring .... taken the
piece of all oth.r actlona, the ...... of having .... obliterated
allother ........
Publicity exert8 an enormoue Influence and I. a
political ph.nom.non of great Importance. But lte off.r I...
narrow .. Ita r.f.rencee are wid.. ,It recognizee nothing exc.pt
the pow.r to acqulr All oth.r human facultl.e or nde ar
madubeldlary to this pow.r. All hopes ar. gath.red
togath.r, mad. homog.neoua, simplified, eo thattli.y b.come
the Inten y.t vagu., magical yat repeetebl. proml.. offered
In .v.ry purcha No oth.r kind of hope or ..tlefactlon or
pl.a.ure can any long.r bnvleaued within the culture of
capltall.m.
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Publicity Is the life of this culture - In so far as
without publicity capitalism could not survive - and at the
same time publicity Is Its dream.
Capitallsria survives by forcing the majority, whom
it exploits, to defina their own interests as narrowly as
possible. This was once achieved by extensive deprivation.
To.day in the developed countries It Is being achieved by
imposing a false standard of what Is and what is not desirable.
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