““[A TV commercial] crossed my desk in 1986. It came with a press release boasting about an enormous production budget employed in service of what it termed a communications “breakthrough”. The secret of this particular breakthrough was the science of semiotics — i.e., conveying meaning via powerful symbols imbued with significance far beyond their literal interpretation. It’s the sort of thing that Jean Baudrillard and Noam Chomsky write about. Umberto Eco. Dudes like that. Dudes who have no responsibility for marketshare. Whoa,” I said to myself as I eagerly tore the videocassette out of its jacket. “This is gonna suck.””
![“[A TV commercial] crossed my desk in 1986. It came with a press release boasting about an enormous production budget employed in service of what it termed a communications “breakthrough”. The secret of this particular breakthrough was the science of semiotics — i.e., conveying meaning via powerful…” quote by Bob Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/147/bob-garfield-61148_communication_a-tv-commercial-crossed-my-desk-in-1986_817180.jpg)
![“Here, television succeeded in completing a fantastic operation of directed consensus building, a real power grab, an OPA [Tender offer] to the entire society, a kidnapping - an unheralded success story on the path towards an integral telemorphosis of society. Television created a global event (or…” quote by Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/98f/jean-baudrillard-1500_community_here-television-succeeded-in-completing_524805.jpg)
![“I personally never expected anything of Obama, and wrote about it before the 2008 primaries. I thought it was smoke and mirrors [...] I don't usually admire Sarah Palin, but when she was making fun of this 'hopey changey' stuff, she was right, there was nothing there. And it was understood by the…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c77/noam-chomsky-42_chomsky_i-personally-never-expected-anything-of_949949.jpg)
