Culture Jam

The alteration is aiming to subvert the absurdity of the Tiffany’s engagement ring ad’s message and the wider practice of proposing with an engagement ring that it represents.

The ad aims to demonstrate that the true, enduring love does not require an expensive ring as a form of guarantee – the woman in this add does not have a ring on her finger, and the Tiffany’s ring is explicitly cut out from the side panel. The jammed version of the ad inspires to invoke the shocking reality-check of what really matters, which is felt sharply at the face of sickness or death. Such a realization should give rise to the feelings of shame of being lured by lies and false values into praising material possessions and status above the pure, intimate human emotions. At the face of old age, sickness, or death, the true human values come into sharp focus. At one’s death bed one is not worried about status or money, but genuinely wanting to have that significant person in his or her life.

The question “Will you?” is reframed from being the one of a man’s proposal to a woman to marry him (again, marriage, which presupposes wedding, as a display of image and status). Instead, at the hospital bed, the question “Will you make my world incredible just by being in it” means just that . It says “Just live! And my life will be incredible. Will you? Will you live?”. Notably, it is not just the man that takes the initiative, and pops the question, but both the woman and the man are on the equal footing. Such relationship is not based on the man “bying” the woman’s commitment, but a mutual feeling of affection towards each other. The image in the ad dramatically highlight such an equal position: both the man and the woman are extending their frail hands to each other, both vulnerable at the face of the sickness, wearing hospital robes.

This intimate image is stripped off the pretense of social image and status, whereas the raw human emotions and true values come to the fore.