I once again chose to look at my bathroom literature, SLAM. The artist used Obama’s hope poster as inspiration for this December’s cover. There are 5 collectable covers each with a different player on the front and each released to a different region in America. Even SLAM, a largely politics-free zone has taken advantage of the cultural significance of the American presidential election and it’s only fitting. The winner of the election captivates to both young people AND basketball fan (I bet you can also guess who are the majority subscribers to SLAM too). The art directors of SLAM used Obama and his pop-culture iconicism to connect to their own specialty, hoop culture. SLAM editor in chief, Ben Osborne, explains the cover in the opening section saying,
Much like the candidates keep talking about all they’re going to do that’s going to be better than before, everyone in the League is promising to be better in shape, be a better teammate, call better plays, sign better players and on and on. In other words, everyone is giving reason to hope. (Osborne 18)
Just like many other companies, SLAM was compelled to the aura of Obama and the effect he has on the targeted readers (youth part of hoop and hip-hop culture). Heck Obama even still plays the odd pickup game. Using the fuel from the thrilling hype of the American election, SLAM hopes to hype up the upcoming NBA season by driving Kobe ahead as a presidential candidate for the Lakers in the Pacific division. This is the perfect cover choice for SLAM, Obama is loved by NBA players, and they even support them when they play by writing messages about hope in black marker on their shoes.
Sources
Osborne, Ben. "The 6th Man". SLAM December 2008: 18
No comments:
Post a Comment