Junk Activism

Electronic Arts staged a protest of their upcoming video game “Dante’s Inferno” at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles.

Inspired by the real Dante Alighieri, but adapted for a new generation and a new medium, the hero of the game is a soldier who defies death and fights for love against impossible odds. The Italian mercenary Dante returns home from the wars to find that his beloved Beatrice has been murdered, and her soul pulled down into Hell by a dark force. He gives chase, and vows to get her back. For weapons, he wields Death’s soul-reaping scythe, and commands holy powers of the cross, given to him by Beatrice.

Thank you EA, I know deep down that you hatched this idea just for me.  You combined three of my favorite things: clever marketing, video games, and protesting all into one package.  As a marketer, I gotta respect it.  Hats off to EA for the cool idea.  I’m sure the religious right hates you, but Jesus will still love you.

There must be a million things you can draw attention to by hiring 20 or so people for a few bucks to stand around and pretend to care about something.  I mean, most people in a protest crowd don’t do much anyhow but hold protest signs to draw attention.  But that’s the point, I think.

Here are protest signs from EA’s Protest for Dante’s Inferno:

The Junk Activism blog design is finally finished.  I think I’ll add a few charity banners here and there for any out there who may feel noble enough to donate to a good cause… but it’s time to stop procrastinating and get some laughable activism up in here!

The past two weeks, all I smell is Economic Meltdown, U.S. Election 2008, and government protest in Thailand (a country I have visited and love).  And it smells like boiling blood. ‘Tis the Season of Activism and I know without a doubt that as I write this someone is marking up some cardboard with something clever.

This is a call for your photos of hilarious and clever protest signs and banners.  We want the ones that are worthy of bumper stickers, or hilarious artwork of famous people.

Anything you submit that is posted on the site you will get credit and a link for!