Ad Vice

"Ad Vice consists of a succession of colored projection surfaces with segments of text from the worlds of advertising, sport and popular culture.  These projection surfaces in turn alternate with images of a rock band whose music continuously frames the whole. As regards form and content, the video looks like a commercial, an advertising spot for SWIPE country. The fast changing images, the continual music, and the starting and ending credits refer to it. The viewer is greeted with the words: welcome to SWIPE country... enjoy the sound... make contact... we'll bring good things to your life. But leaning back and enjoying it just doesn't seem possible. The comfort of fast changing images and catchy slogans is undermined by probing questions that appear on the projection surface. Do you feel good? Why do you feel so lonely? Am I a stranger in my own world? As confirmation of this undermining effect, some of the questions appear more than once or are of extra large size.

Ad Vice forms the question: we all have opinions, the voice of our generation, where do they come from? And in this way, Cokes seems to question the essence of our individual existence. Who or what are you? A product of present-day consumer society? So are you happy with that? Are you really happy?"

--Anita de Groot, World Wide Video Festival (Amsterdam, 2000)

Concept/Form: Tony Cokes for X-PRZ Music: Swipe 2.0 (1997)

Type: Context by Jean-Paul Tremblay

DV Mastering: Scott Pagano