Tugging at Digital Heartstrings

Ads that pop up on iPhones, digitalized billboards and flatscreens on the sides of buildings lack any semblance of a beating  heart or deep and mysterious soul. In fact, any human touch to the varnished, made up faces and gloriously sleek airbrushed bodies is gone; these creations seem to be something from a Philip K. Dick-like future rather than our living, breathing present. Where have the stories behind our ads gone? Where are the Mad Men-esque tales woven after late nights, cocktails and too many cigarettes? Where are the truly human elements?

Living in New York, I barely notice what the boards, buildings and my apps are trying to sell. Rather, I am still surprised by the pixilated platforms on which products are hawked (I mean, when was the last time anyone really paid attention to a newspaper ad?) There’s a certain coolness to ads I see around the city and it makes me even less likely to part with my hard-earned cash in this city where, I’ve read, walking out of the door will cost you twenty dollars.