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Adbusters taking to the airwaves

Count the Adbusters Media Foundation among the people likely disappointed there are no Canadian teams left in the race for this year’s Stanley Cup.
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Count the Adbusters Media Foundation among the people likely disappointed there are no Canadian teams left in the race for this year’s Stanley Cup.

While the longrunning local  leftwing activist group seem unlikely fans of massive corporate sporting events, the magazine and its supporters have shelled out $21,000 to air a 15-second ad during, according to their press release, “game 40 of the CBC Hockey Playoffs.”

More than 500 people kicked into a "Mindbombs Campaign" on Indiegogo to pay for the “Spill Harper” clip spoofing what a day at the beach could become if projects such as Kinder Morgan’s expanded Trans Mountain pipeline are approved. (In short, not good.) Adbusters says it is the first of several citizen-produced TV ads in the lead up to the upcoming federal election this autumn.

“It’s an exciting idea that we’ve only just begun to cut our teeth with," says Adbusters top dog Kalle Lasn. "Of having not just the Libs, NDP, Greens and Conservatives airing their ads during the election, but to have crowd-funded messages from the people of Canada running throughout the election campaign as well. Because we’re not worried about getting elected ourselves, we have the freedom to tell it like it is.”

The debut ad is expected to reach a TV audience of two million people, although this may be considerably lower now that the Habs and Flames have dug out their golf clubs for the season. While it’s unclear during what specific game the ad will premiere given that the 40th game of this year’s NHL playoffs was a 4-0 win by the now-eliminated Detroit Red Wings over the Tampa Bay Lightning three weeks ago, surely it will be soon.

And at least there’s always the Internet.

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