7.40: picked up by a cab (nice Audi) and taken to the Television Centre to be interviewed on BBC1's breakfast show. I'm plonked in a waiting room on my own with half an hour to spare before I go on… half an hour to try and maintain anxiety levels, which are already sky high, as I've never done live TV before. Gulping down some water I start to relax a little, only for the TV in the room to spring to life, playing the show I'm about to go on; 'Coming up, former Eastender Michelle Collins, REM's Michael Stipe and a journalist who is about to burn ALL his brands.' Jesus Christ, I hope the other guests don't come into this waiting room. what am I going to say to them.. 'So Michelle, did you really kill Ian Beale' as I quietly soil my trousers.
8.30: ten minutes to go, and I'm pacing outside the studio trying to hold it down. Michelle Collins is stuck in traffic apparently, so I might have to go on for longer. Or they'll rush the REM guy on early.
8.40: I'm sitting on the sofa in front of the cameras, waiting to go on. This is my last chance to make a run for it. What would they do, go straight to news and travel? I might never work on telly again, but who cares? Suddenly my gormless picture flashes up on a big screen behind me and we are away.
8.45: The interview is over. Didn't corpse or stutter thankfully. Completely buzzing with adrenalin, I cross the studio floor and bump into Michael Stipe, who's waiting to go on. 'Hey dude, good piece. I read your blog yesterday, I think it’s a cool thing that you're doing'. I'm lost for words. He continues, 'I bought these shoes from Prada yesterday, but only because they are the most comfortable I can find'. I'm still stood frozen. he shakes my hand and says 'I'm Michael'. 'Yes, I know. Pleasure to meet you. Err, thanks very much Michael... nice jacket, where did you get that from?' 'You don't wanna know' he shakes my hand and walks on to the set.
9.30: having been torn to shreds on Radio 5 Live the night before, it has been decided that I need two hours of intensive media training. I am now sitting with an ex news editor of the Daily Mirror, who is has turned his trade to coaching businessmen, politicians and celebrities how to talk themselves out of a crisis on the TV/ radio. Fascinating stuff, learning how to control the flow of conversation, crush arguments and make points. Though somehow, it all feels rather sinister. This is hardcore.
11.30: Mum, fiancé and a close friend call to say well done on the telly.
12.00: do a radio interview with an Irish radio station. They don't really ask me any tough questions, so it's not as stressful as before.
1.00: do a radio interview for a station in New Zealand. Again, the questions are reasonably fluffy, so not too many problems. Can't quite believe that this project has spread from my front room in London across the world to New Zealand.
2.00: speak to fire officers/ health and safety people who are concerned that I asked punters to throw their gear on the fire alongside me on the TV this morning. That was a big mistake. Must not do that again.
3.00: Do an interview with the Independent On Sunday, which is more demanding than the rest, plus I'm tiring of the sound of my own voice and feeling completely knackered. Still, I try and remember some of the training I had earlier in the day: DON’T TELL ME, SHOW ME.
5:00: meet with some more people from the Beeb about doing some sort of programme. Running on vapour now, a wired feeling of exhaustion and adrenalin that I can imagine can become quite addictive if you keep it up for long. For most of the meeting, everyone round the table picks holes in my project, though it is relatively well humoured. So far it's only been the BBC that has picked up on my story, TV-wise. Is that because they are the only broadcasters in the UK that are ad-free, and can afford to take the risk of me spouting on about the evils of advertising? Probably not, but it makes for a nice conspiracy theory.
6.00: I stumble on to the street from the meeting feeling a bit faint, and spark up a Marlboro Light (started smoking again due to the stress… going to a hypnotist next week to get that nailed). The smoke stings me eyes and as I rub them better standing hunched in the street, the adrenalin gives way and I'm crashing. Out of nowhere, a complete stranger on a bike stops and yells 'Oi, I saw you on telly this morning. When are you going to burn your stuff' 'Err, September 17th'. This day cannot get any more bizarre. 'I don't buy any brands if I can help it, have you heard of the Greenfutures website? They do loads of stuff that would be good for you.'. 'Err, ok, cool'. I'm so taken aback that anyone recognises me that for the second time today, I'm left stuttering and lost for words.
8.00: Go to bed. Start worrying that I've created a monster that I can't really handle, but before the though is even processed I fall asleep.
14 Comments:
Congrats on the publicity!
Love the comment re: Michael Stipe's coat, made me grin.
How is the feet problem? Getting better? Perhaps some stretches before you slip into them might help as well?
Just a couple of random thoughts. :)
One last question.. have you found a venue yet???
~Dana
Hello
i'll announce the venue next week on the blog. Please come down. The feet are fine now. Ah, thanks for asking.
Have you ever read No Logo by Naomi Klein? It took me about 6 months to read it because it's heavy stuff, the facts and figures are scary, but she also decribes actions taken by individuals such as yourself, which makes me believe your book will score cause you've put your finger on a very sour spot... BUT! Brands really DO matter: in the early days a brand stood for quality but now they're all made in the same asian or central american sweatshops anyway, of the same materials, so right now people should realize that by the brands they wear they show others what kind of person they are: more concerned in how they look than in wheither the person who made their precious clothes has received a decent wage for it, uninterested in environment (polution caused by factories that make/bleach the clothes) or even animal wellness (cosmetics tested on animals) As a matter of fact, even though I call myself a brand-hater, I myself judge people on the brand of what they wear/use: Body Shop = no testing on animals, Oxfam = fairtrade priced products etc etc... The world shouldn't get rid of brands, on the contrary, it should be 'hip' to wear the right brand, the one that pays his employers and produces without poluting. Gives you something to think about eh... The best of luck!!! PS I agree that donating your stuff is more helpfull and less poluting than a bonfire
keep it up dude - I have a feeling that this is only the tip of your publicity iceberg.
Got any good tips for a hypnotist - gotta give up those fags.
That's Neil in the corner.
That's Neil in the spotlight
Losing his (brand) religion.
...
And he don't know if he can do it.
Oh no, I've said too much.
(Almost) cousin Katie here. I'm following your adventures from across the pond. Let me know when your media tour brings you to NYC!
I can understand your desire to give up the brands but burning them is just a complete waste and only someone reasonably well off could even think of doing it. Why not sell them and donate the money to a charity which works towards termonation of child workers in the fashion sweat shops or give them to homeless people? I'm no hippie but burning your discarded belongings will release thousands of damaging gases into the atmosphere. Finally you could at least take a moment to see how lucky you are. I can't afford branded clothes but at least I am grateful that I can afford my £5 jeans from tesco. there are many who aren't as fortunate.
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To everyone moaning about the burning..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1024745.stm
Elton John spent over £290,000 on flowers in around 18 months, i don't see anyone moaning about that. Surely that money could have been better used. 'Ah but Elton's got a charity, he gives loads to that'. How do you know that Neil does not give regularly to charity? And even if he does or doesn't why should that matter. How is a couple of grands worth of clothing being burned far worse than a millionaire pop start spending quarter of a milion on something that will wither and die in a couple of months anyway?
It is interesting how you are all viewing Neil's branded possessions as a valuable commodity that can assist others. If it was a bunch of old odd socks and some dodgy George sweatshirts i dont think they'd be nearly as much palaver over it all. However the power of the brands makes people get very uptight about it all - interesting no? If there was no market for these clothes - a market created by the brands - then no one would want them. If you're that bothered about clothing the third world rock on down to TXMaxx with £50 and you'll probably be able to get more clothing for that than Neil's entire wardrobe.
If neil gave it all away there'd be no talking point, you wouldn't be here. Would you moan at Greenpeace for spending a couple of hundred quid on a big banner highlighting climate change when that money could have been better spent on something more productive? The burning is a symbolic gesture to help raise a quite serious issue affecting us today. Does no one appreciate the power of a singular act?
if not i hope you save up all the food you don't eat each week and make sure that is appropiately distributed as well. Otherwise you're just a bit of a hypocrite.
Hi,
Just read the piece about you in the Independent. I like your idea. I think sometimes it's necessary to make a big gesture to effect change. Now...if you started burning your stuff monthly or became too obsessive with finding unbranded products, perhaps we'd start worrying about you. Though isn't that just risking another obsession? hehe. And while we're on it, do you like Muji or is it just another overly expensive product?
What captured my attention the most about your interview is that it addresses the frustrations about branding and advertising i have been feeling for years. You're a man after me own heart. In fact, my friends and family are familiar with the sight of me mocking the television and sighing with disgust at the adverts; by pure freakish coincidence, last night it was that very L'Oreal advert you mentioned. Isn't it just so smarmy?! I'm shamed to admit that i have become rather embittered on this subject, preferring to turn the sound off for the adverts rather than hear their stupid patronising patterings.
Unlike you, I was quite lucky to go to a school that let us wear our own clothing but banned branding of any type. In fact, people who wore branding were rather looked down upon for being shallow and falling for the hype. To this day, i am not a brand slave but neither do i believe in going totally against all branding (isn't starkly contrasted polarised thinking on any subject a limited thing?). It is the unreal worth of any product/thing that is the problem. Like Michael Stipe's comment suggests, Isn't it best to buy something i need, like and that is made well (irrespective of brand or no-brand) over something that's worth is only made by public perception? I personally am an advocate of quality, personal expression and fair pricing but certainly not of attitude superiority. If in the case of buying a branded pair of shoes over non-branding if they are the most comfortable, the knowledge that their brand means loads to some people but nothing to me is just an added secret bonus.
I generally have an attitude with mass consumerism and this attitude also seeps into other areas. Have you considered the food industry? I have issues with the nasty side effects mass consumerism is doing to our most essential substances. My personal favourite rant is that because we apparently want our tomatoes so perfectly red and round, all the flavour has been bred out of them. How ridiculous is it that?! Even worse is that buying things from supermarkets pre-made means there are children out there who don't know that vegetables come from the earth! In rebellion (or is it more to do with demanding taste buds) when ever i move to a new place, I spend weeks finding the best, most flavoursome, ugly but natural tomatoes i can so i can enjoy their flavour. I have often presented them triumphantly to friends whilst cooking dinner. I'm now taking it all a bit far in attempting to also gain a little ground over the super markets; it gave me great pleasure this week to make a year's supply of jam out of fruit off our apple tree. No preservatives, no labelling and only cost me the price of the brown sugar!
Keep it up. I'm fed up of people thinking they are worth more because of the cost and make of their clothes! It's about time we all regained some sanity.
Hello
thats interesting about your school... where exactly did you go? That would make a fascinating case study. The last time I visited a school, I was interested to see that the kids had been given a project to draw and colour-in their favourite brands. One whole wall of a classroam was covered in McDonalds arches and Nike shooshes. I got the impression that, compared to other wall-mounted projects that had been set, this one was the most fun for the kids, seeming to have more vibrancy.
What can you do? Kids love this stuff. I did exactly the same... the inside of my desk at school was covered in drawings of logos. It a huge part of our lives.
You have given your protest not only a brand but even a website. Branding a product is as useful as signing a book--it gives potential buyers the provenance of the product they are about to purchase. Liberal-minded readers don't waste their time scanning the new lists from fundamentalist Christian presses; Mac users doesn't want to read a lengthy description in order to learn that a Microsoft product won't work for them. In fact, if branding were not common practice it would be adviseable to make it compulsory.
I read about your protest because it featured in a branded newspaper, the Guardian. If it had appeared in the Sun, I wouldn't have seen it. You're confusing the medium with the message--I suggest that you change the name of your campaign and its website to XXXX and see how much attention it gets.
hi Neil.
Looks like you appeal to a lot of people, great idea! I just finished a months experiment living at the budget of a poor person. Just to experience the worth of money again. We - I- tend to spend it thoughtlessly, such a shame. Back on topic:
I think the perfect revange at brands would be to just don't care. To just go any shop you see and just buy whatever you truly like. Nevermind the brand. Simply mix the cheap and the top of the bill. But that message is too complex to be sticky. too bad. keep up the good work!
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