The National Security Agency has a bit of a branding problem at the moment. Since the beginning of the summer, when ex-contractor Edward Snowden leaked thousands of documents outlining the massive extent of the agency’s prying, the NSA’s image at home and abroad has been tarnished – to say the least.
The surveillance disclosures, while disconcerting and possibly illegal, have inspired enterprising creatives to combat, protest and subvert the agency in hacky (and occasionally hilarious) ways.
At the risk of ending up on a list somewhere, here are a few of Digiday’s favorite anti-NSA guerilla marketing tactics:
A crowd-funded startup called “Don’t Snoop Me Bro” has invented a boxy gadget that encrypts and anonymizes your online activity. If that sounds too high tech, fear not. Normals can turn it on and off with the simple twist of a key.
Sang Mun, another former agency contractor, has come up with his own solution: encrypted fonts. His ZXX font works by putting marks and images over text so that a bot can’t easily scan it. “This project counteracts the status quo — a fatigueless fight to retrieve our civil rights, liberties and freedoms back from the autocrats,” reads a statement on the ZXX website. Don’t be a part of the status quo! You can download the font directly here.
The NSA Video
Evangeline Lilly has teamed up with Demand Progress and Fight for the Future to bring an informative five-minute video that splices in “School House Rock” snippets and footage from “The Big Lebowski.” Designed to be accessible to The Average Joe, the video is perfect for sharing with your friends without seeming like a crazy left-winger.
Adopt A Highway Near the NSA
The group Restore the Fourth – as in, Fourth Amendment – signed up for the “Adopt-a-Highway” government program not just to pick up litter but also to have signs displayed with its organization’s name directly across from an NSA data center.
If all else fails, you could prank the NSA hotline, though we don’t recommend it. Besides, you probably couldn’t pull it off half as well as this guy:
More in Marketing
WPP and Roblox strike new global content and advertising partnership
Elements of the Roblox–WPP partnership will include the joint development of a certification program intended to help marketers become Roblox experts, as well as the formation of an “advisory council” to help develop measurement standards for Roblox’s three-dimensional in-game advertising inventory.
Sony’s ‘Ghost of Yotei’ shows how games and film/TV adaptations are increasingly going hand in hand
Sony’s announcement of “Ghost of Yotei” adaptations from the very beginning shows that the publisher is recognizing how IP adaptations can be an invaluable tool to extend the lifespan of even a relatively new game.
Marketing Briefing: Why marketers are all about ‘nontraditional formats’ now
There’s a slow recognition that marketers must invest in brand marketing – but that investment looks different than it once did.