Throwing our voices: ventriloquism as new media activism

Abstract

Tipped off ahead of time about the Chevron company’s pending ad campaign designed to respond to consumer worries about the conduct of oil companies, the activist group The Yes Men produced its own copycat ads and fake press releases on Chevron’s behalf which spoke much more bluntly about the company’s misdeeds. Designed to be mistaken for the real, the dummy campaign was indeed picked up by the press, generating a series of reportage, retractions, and discussion. The Yes Men succeeded in temporarily ‘throwing their voice’ into the body of the Chevron corporation, using a savvy form of ventriloquism as a means of directing the public conversation. While it is reductive and inaccurate to speak of new media as inherently democratizing, it is essential to examine instances in which it is used strategically as such a force. In this case, Chevron, like most advertisers, was the first ventriloquist, seeking to speak through the bodies of seemingly satisfied consumers. However, the Yes Men successfully turned the tables by poaching on Chevron’s powerful public voice, seizing the multinational’s megaphone and encouraging others to join the conversation, providing a glimpse of a tactic tailored to capitalize on the democratic potential of new media.