Do Canadians have the right to walk into their local television stations and buy airtime for any message they want to see televised? In an attempt to start a larger discussion that explores this inquiry, Adbusters Media Foundation has taken Canada-based Global Television, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to court. The case is being examined by the British Columbia Supreme Court, which is deciding whether or not it should be taken forward. The company is calling this a battle against censorship. Thus far, Adbusters has poured over one hundred thousand dollars into the legal fight. They claim to have–for more than a decade–been attempting to pay for major television spots that represent its anti-consumerist message. Adbusters founder and magazine editor Kalle Lasn described the ads, which are otherwise known as “mental environmental” spots: “They’re very carefully packaged, some dealing with the car industry, others with climate change. There is an infamous ad that features a big, fat, burping pig for ‘Buy Nothing Day.’”

When I brought this case to the attention of friends, co-workers, and other bystanders, there was something of a backlash that appeared to come from an inexplicable place. Many asked, “But then anyone would be able to advertise? Anyone could buy a message?” Others asked if that, by a station being forced to be allowed to air an anti-consumerist message, wouldn’t this then adversely affect the willingness of corporate advertisers to buy spots? Speaking with TRACE on the phone, Lasn addressed these concerns by citing a time when he claimed cigarette companies exclusively cornered the commercial market:

“What are people scared of? Are they scared skinheads will buy some horrible ad or pornographers? My feeling, and the feeling of culture jammers, media activists/advocates, is that we already have something horrible. The bad guys are trying to get us to consume more and more, and the only way to reform the system is to allow something similar to what happened with big tobacco. It was all over television and then there were a few brilliant ads that showed up, anti-smoking ads, that were so powerful that they created a big divide. We need a similar free marketplace of ideas that allows people to talk back against cars, fashion, fast food, or whatever and we should not be scared of a free market place of ideas.”

The suit is especially relevant in the United States, as Lasn claims that if the case succeeds in Canada, they’re bringing it here next. Can transculturalism be spread in an arena in which a consumerist message maintains a hegemony of other ideas? Cheers to excitedly observing the continuation of this conversation throughout the weeks, months, and years to come!