Bullies

Describe your idea and concept of your work in relation to the festival outlines:

In Australia, the hierarchy of where we buy our fresh produce from has formed into a vast cultural issue. It is rare that we come across an individual who does not shop at Woolworths or Coles. The two supermarket giants are our number 1 and 2 retailers in the country, and they control 70% of our total spending.

This highly regulated and tedious social expectation has impacted Australia’s farms, famers and retailers, as well as the quality and expectations of our produce. What consumers see as a routine and convenient process is harming smaller green grocers and corner stores. With Woolworths and Coles now controlling 80% of our grocery spending, they have a freedom to force out smaller competitors, leaving them penniless.

However, it is not just the retailers being left for dead, but our own Australian produce farmers. With such dependence on Woolworths and Coles to stock their produce, the supermarket giants are able to pay the supplies whatever they wish, usually as small as 5%. The corporate control spreads to the growing process, where they pack our fresh produce with chemicals, hormones and pesticides, as well as harvest them early all to keep up with consumer demands for cheaper, easier and faster food.

What kind of communication approach do you use?

Keeping in mind that the target audience of supermarkets are primarily middle ages women, busy, and wanting to feed their family, I intended to create a to-the-point and easy to understand communication approach. Aesthetically the design critiques and opposes the idea “perfect produce” that is exemplified in supermarkets with down lights, perfect displays as well as waxes and shellacs. Using dirt brown, and blue naturally relating to rotten food the communication stand out from the expectation of fresh produce. The poster is intended for quick and effective communication, by utilizing the words that suppliers use to describe Woolworths and Coles. A fold out infographic is used, which evokes handleability to shed more light on the issue. Finally, a guerilla style sticker has been created to grab consumer’s attention and intercept their thoughts when they anticipate buying fresh produce from Woolworths or Coles.

What are in your opinion concrete benefits to the society because of your communication?

My communication aims to create a serious benefit of consumers beginning to question the ideological role of the Australian supermarket giants. This would allow people to become more responsive with the way their look at their produce and decentralize control by Woolworths and Coles.

Another benefit is allowed consumers to examine the impact of their desire and demand for convenience produce and potentially alter this social construct. This would allow people to become more active and free with their food decisions.

What did you personally learn from creating your submitted work?

When beginning this work I felt totally naive about the situation at hand. After working at a supermarket for 6 years, and still continuing to shop at one of the large supermarkets, I realised that I am also part of the problem. I learnt that consumers don’t actively think about where they buy their produce from and they are shutting themselves off to food freedom. I feel this issue will take a long time to resolve, however, with greater concern and acknowledgement for the issue, equality can be reached.

Why is your work, GOOD communication WORK?

‘Bullies’ provokes the consumer to take action and make critical decisions. By using challenging language and informative content, the campaign gives the consumer the responsibility to make a positive and responsive reaction. The work confronts social and cultural roles of repetitive regulation and tackles them front on.

Where and how do you intent do implement your work?

I would intend for the poster to be the most powerful section in my work. The poster would be anticipated to be located outside of major supermarkets and shopping centres, targeting the consumer before entering. The guerrilla sticker would then be implemented inside the store, placed on fruits and vegetables, targeting the shopper in a more confronting way and encouraging them not to purchase the produce. Finally, the infographic fold out would appear in a mailbox drop, aiming to end up in consumer’s homes for them to study and understand.

Did your intervention had an effect on other Media. If yes, describe the effect? (Has other media reported on it- how? Were you able to change other media with your work- how?)

My intervention has not particularly had an effect on other media, however, it plays a vital role in how we look at the media supermarkets advertise themselves with.