Gruen Planet on the land of spin

Today is the last taping of The Gruen Transfer for the season. Producers will now focus on the new Gruen offering, the forthcoming Gruen Planet.

The aim of the new show apparently is to explore the dark arts of all those 'on the sell' – tyrants, sports stars, actors, criminals, politicians, deities, charities and entire nations.

According to the show it will tackle questions such as; How do you protect an unstable government when a backbencher goes feral? Does Tiger cut it any more as a business? How has the Arab uprising been turned into Western profit? What was the Dalai Lama doing on Masterchef? Who do you turn to when your family name is your brand – and it's become toxic?

With the premiere airing on Wed 29 September, Will Anderson and his regular panelists take on the persuasion business and explain, "Why the world appears, not as it really is, but as others want us to see it."

At Australian Creative this is virtually our raison d'etre and exploring the creative process, psychology and craft in developing spin, image and branding is fascinating.

A recent statement from the producers said that advertising was not the only industry that wanted to get inside our heads and move the furniture around.
"Spin, branding, and image control also form the nervous system of 21st century life - the levers pulled behind most news stories, the silent partners in public debates."

It's hard to disagree and one can look forward to the irreverence, insight and argy bargy of Howcroft & Sampson as they battle it out in a global context - should be interesting.

Love it or hate it the Gruen series of productions is a polarising force and one which clearly demonstrates the general public's interest in the creative and philosophical drivers behind advertising and brand development. The new program promises more of this while refreshingly broadening the scope and territory of the work.

Our question of the week is; Is Gruen as a series of productions, a force for good or evil for the advertising industry? Please comment below.