Look at the Animal -counter-ad workshop

A relaxed, fun, and useful summer activity! Come develop your media literacy and learn to recognize what ads leave unsaid—and how they might sugarcoat reality. After this counter-ad workshop, you won’t be as easy to fool as a consumer!

Volunteers from the Tampere regional branch of Animalia ry are organizing two animal rights-focused counter-advertising workshops on Thursday, August 6. The first workshop will be held from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM and the second from 6:15 PM to 7:15 PM. The workshops will begin with a 15-minute introduction explaining what a counter-ad is and what we’ll be doing during the workshop. If you can’t make it to the workshop on time, you can also drop by to create your own counter-ad during the workshop. You don’t need any special crafting skills—it’s the message that matters most! We’ll use printed or magazine-clipped ads, sticky notes, glue, and other office and craft supplies.

The workshops are based on counter-ads created by Jari Tamminen, an editor at Häiriköt-päämaja, which can be found in Voima magazine.

What is a counter-ad? A counter-ad reveals something about the advertised product that the advertiser would not reveal themselves. The workshop encourages us to reflect on how advertisements influence our lives and guide our actions. By creating symbolic disruptions in the communication between advertisers and consumers, the counter-ad offers a glimpse into an alternative world. These glimpses can also inspire us to strive for change ourselves.

The workshops were developed in collaboration with Jari Tamminen of Voima magazine and Häiriköt-päämaja. The workshops are part of the “Katse eläimeen” (Look at the Animal) project, a joint initiative by Animalia, the (Nuorten Akatemia (Youth Academy), and Häiriköt-päämaja aimed at strengthening young people’s media literacy. We decided to expand the audience for the Night of Events’ anti-advertising workshops to include adults as well, because advertisements deceive adult consumers just as much as they do young people.

Accessibility information: There is a ramp at the front door. The entrance to the front door is approximately 180 cm wide at its widest point. There are several stairs leading to the upper floor. The upper floor can also be accessed by a stairlift. The upper-floor lobby has a doorway that is 177 cm wide. The conference room in which the workshop will be held has two doors, each 88 cm wide. The threshold is approximately 1 cm high.

Restrooms: On the first floor, there is a restroom with a low threshold that also serves as an accessible restroom. The restroom threshold is approximately 2 cm high, and the doorway is 100 cm wide. There are several restrooms on the ground floor. One of the restroom facilities also includes urinals. There is no elevator on the ground floor. There are two separate restrooms on the upper floor. Artteli’s restrooms are gender-neutral. There is no induction loop.

Artteli does not have customer parking spaces, but you can park on the adjacent streets for a fee or with a parking disc.

For more information on accessibility, please contact Artteli’s information desk at 050 452 1169.

Questions regarding the workshop? Please send us an email tampere@animalia.fi