Shinjuku: whilst not the most fashionable area of Tokyo, it does have its fair share of consumer cathedrals, above and below ground. As I wandered through the labyrinthine subways that lie beneath the opulent streets above, I came across the following advertisement:

Like the ‘Theory’ hoarding in Sendai, here again is a moment of theoretical collision. The blatant message to stop thinking and just shop seems, at least initially, the pure symptom of conspicuous consumer culture. However, look again and perhaps we can spot a deep flaw in the message. When we buy we are constantly thinking – imagining the product in relation to ourselves, to our other possessions, what it might mean to a loved one or more generally our peers. If we didn’t think we wouldn’t buy, we wouldn’t have an attachment to anything. There would be no desire. In this light, perhaps it is no real surprise that the person’s wrist and hand are silhouetted, almost disappearing. One might think of the overwhelming power of the ring in The Lord of the Rings!  But it doesn’t work like that in reality – and arguably this advertisement is far from appealing because of its edict to stop thinking. It works better perhaps as a textbook example, since it captures both the obvious reaction (and rhetoric) of how the world is just descending into a mindlessness of shopping and yet, also brings to light (through the eclipse of the hand) the need for our active (and pleasurable) role in shopping.