Of course, they can use Microsoft and other search engines, but this will force them out of their 'comfort zones' and they will see the degree to which corporations have shaped their access to information and their social and work lives. The final brands that will be featured will be the popular discount merchandizes Costco and Target. Because of their advertised cheapness, which is paradoxically fused with an aura of exclusivity due to Costco's membership fees and Target's attractive store designs, many consumers view shopping at these stores as 'experiences' rather than as chores. Consumers may buy all of their household's items in bulk from Costco; Target markets itself as offering beautiful items at bargain-basement prices to consumers. The close relationship of consumers to these brands will make it all the more difficult for frequent patrons to abandon their favorite shopping locations.

This reality show, rather than promoting brands, will be subversive in the manner in which it encourages consumers to question their relationships with brands and the degree to which they identify brands as part of their identities. Rather than encouraging conspicuous consumption, the series will instead promote less consumption and a more enlightened view of the manner in which corporations dictate our lives and selves. At the end of the ten episodes of profiled persons and corporations, there will be...

It will also offer the viewer some suggestions about how to reduce the use of brands in his or her life, such as buying less clothing; buying second-hand; repairing rather than discarding salvageable items, making food and clothing, and above all finding ways to value the self in a manner that is not tied to a corporate image. The show will seek to separate the image from the actual functionality of products and services, and attempt to provide people with some freedom in terms of how they relate to an increasingly commodity-based environment.
According to situationist theory, much of formerly radical political culture has been appropriated by the capitalist machine (Matthews 2009). This reality TV program aspires to do the opposite -- it uses a capitalist formula in the form of a reality television show but uses that format to critique capitalism. It uses familiar images in a way that are striking and hopefully unsettling for viewers, as the featured 'brand addicts' struggle to lead a normal life without their brands.

Works Cited

Matthews, J. "An introduction to the situationists." The Anarchist's Library. 7 May 2009.

[10 Jun 2013] http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/jan-d-matthews-an-introduction-to-the-situationists