As Seen on Tv

I have made a television commercial called As Seen on TV.

It aired on Channel M (Manchester Channel) which is on SKY 203 or NTL 26, from Weds 20th Sept. until the 28th Sept 2006.I offered viewers the opportunity to own a free limited edition miniature art work. Each one is personally signed and numbered and was available to collect from Greenroom Manchester, 5-7pm, 28th September 2006.There were two versions of the ads, and they were screened between 4 And 6 times a day, early evening onwards. Channel M is also available to residents of Manchester through their existing tv aerial. 36,500 people saw the advert according to IBSQS sources

"As Seen On TV", September 2006. In the advert Jason Minsky invites you (the viewer) to come and, “make your dreams a reality” by offering you the chance to own a free limited edition miniature artwork, personally signed and numbered by the artist. For this opportunity, Minsky instructs the viewer that they must come along to the free giveaway of his limited edition miniature artworks at the Green Room, Manchester on Thursday 28th of September between 5 and 7pm. So, do you go? Are you intrigued enough to find out what these limited edition miniature artworks are? And can you believe that the giveaway will actually happen? Crucially, how much can we trust what we see on TV? And how much do we want what we see advertised on TV? The advert is both kitsch and humorous and dressed in a suit taking on a persona reminiscent of a 1970’s cheesy car salesman, enhanced by the "dreamlike" sky background and the red pop-up slogans reiterating the, "yes it’s free" sales pitch, Minsky asks the viewer to come and pick up their free artworks which involves moving away from their television sets and out of the comfort of their own homes. Using television as a medium that can enable him to communicate to a very large audience, "As Seen On TV" is commenting on the inescapability of television and the power of television advertising in the promotion and selling of products. Does seeing a product advertised on television alter our perception of that product and the status/value we attribute to it or now understand it to have? By posing such questions, "As Seen On TV" asks us to think about the relationship we have with television and consequently highlights the paradoxical reliance that we have on TV. Minsky cites American websites such as, "As Seen On TV" which consists of a list of adverts letting you buy the products you have seen on TV and if a product has been advertised on TV, it is almost thought of as a "badge of honour" or a "seal of approval." So, do we want it more? In terms of the piece itself, Minsky’s "As Seen On TV" is made up of multiple elements: the advert promoting the free art giveaway, the act of making the viewer physically come and get their artwork from a specific site in Manchester (as instructed by the artist) and the giving out and receiving of the free limited edition miniature artwork. Arriving at the Green Room the TV viewer (turned product consumer, exhibition goer and art collector/owner) is presented with their own limited edition, hand signed, numbered and sealed Jason Minsky miniature artwork. But how can you be sure that it is a Jason Minsky artwork? What edition number is it? Does this matter? And, what is the actual artwork? For example, is it the sealed envelope, its contents, the artist’s signature, the "free giveaway", the advert or the act of making the viewer come and collect the artwork? By labelling and promoting the free giveaway of "500 limited edition miniature artworks (only)" Minsky employs known advertising strategies, making them into sought after items and raises the possibility of their "sell-out" status which works to increase our desire to own one. But by offering us the chance to own a limited edition miniature artwork who, in fact, retains control of the piece? Is it the artist or the viewer/receiver and new "owner" of the artwork? With the free limited edition miniature artwork, Minsky presents us with a dilemma. What are we going to do with the artwork now? And, what do we consider a limited edition miniature artwork to be? Will breaking the seal detract from the value and possible future value of the work? And furthermore, what are the limits of this piece? By choosing to wear the "As Seen On TV" badge are we extending and inevitably taking this piece into an alternative and different space? "As Seen On TV" involves a clear performance element, seen through both the advert and the process of activating the viewer to come and get their artwork and issues of ownership, control, value, status, choice, reliability, trust and interaction are importantly raised by this piece. For Minsky, the medium of television is disposable and is, "as instantly disposable and forgettable as the artwork." Minsky cites the work of Piero Manzoni and the issues and questions raised in "As Seen On TV" refers to past artistic experiments with the artist’s signature, the role of the artist as promoter/seller of products and the work itself crosses over and refers to the movements of Arte Povera, Pop Art and Performance Art. By using and readdressing the subjects of television and advertising through this piece, "As Seen On TV" seeks to reintroduce the necessity to look again at these topics within an artistic context and the need to be aware of the interaction that we have with these on a daily basis. Concerning the inescapable nature of commercial technologies such as television and advertising, perhaps a renewed look at the effects of these within a contemporary artistic context is needed. Text by Lisa Beauchamp.