“Why We Must Commune: �Rethinking the Role of Marketing and Communications in Turbulent Times”�Presented by Assistant Professor Javier Garcia,�The City College of New York

Friday, February 20^th, 2026, 9:45AM

About: You

About: Professor Garcia

About Professor Javier Garcia

About Professor Javier Garcia

About Professor Javier Garcia

About Professor Javier Garcia

About Professor Javier Garcia

About Professor Javier Garcia

About Professor Javier Garcia

About Professor Javier Garcia

About Professor Javier Garcia

About Professor Javier Garcia

About Professor Javier Garcia

About Professor Javier Garcia

About Professor Javier Garcia

At A Glance: CCNY’s BA in Communications

Division of Humanities and the Arts

Media & Communication Arts Department

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Advertising & Public Relations

• Founded in 1985 – Major only*

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Journalism

• Once Major -> Minor only -> Both Major & Minor (Fall 2024)

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Coming Soon:��Advertising & Public Relations Minor�@ CCNY

CCNY’s Ad/PR Minor is a ��BIG DEAL

Sneak Peek: CCNY’s Ad/PR Minor�(Approval Pending)

18 Credit Minor – 4 Required Courses

Sneak Peek: CCNY’s Ad/PR Minor�(Approval Pending)

18 Credit Minor – 2 Electives �(Recommended, existing courses within the Ad/PR Specialization Major – both required & electives)

Why Now?

• Popular demand by students
• Democratization of media & communications
• Democratization of the communications industry

Why Now?

• Popular demand by students
• Democratization of media & communications
• Democratization of the communications industry

Why Now?

• Popular demand by students
• Democratization of media & communications
• Democratization of the communications industry

Why Now?

• Popular demand by students
• Democratization of media & communications
• Democratization of the communications industry

Communications’ Creative Revolutions: Past, Present, Future?

• Advertising’s “Creative Revolution”- 1950s to 1970s
• Commonly described as “the golden age of advertising”
• Emerging technologies, cable TV – 1970s to early 1990s
• The Dot Com to Pre-Smartphone & Social Media Era
• Social Media & Streaming Era
• [What Comes Next?]

Communications’ Creative Revolutions: Past, Present, Future?

• Advertising’s “Creative Revolution”- 1950s to 1970s
• Commonly described as “the golden age of advertising”
• Emerging technologies, cable TV – 1970s to early 1990s
• The Dot Com to Pre-Smartphone & Social Media Era
• Social Media & Streaming Era
• [What Comes Next?]

Communications’ Creative Revolutions: Past, Present, Future?

• Advertising’s “Creative Revolution”- 1950s to 1970s
• Commonly described as “the golden age of advertising”
• Emerging technologies, cable TV – 1970s to early 1990s
• The Dot Com to Pre-Smartphone & Social Media Era
• Social Media & Streaming Era
• [What Comes Next?]

Communications’ Creative Revolutions: Past, Present, Future?

• Advertising’s “Creative Revolution”- 1950s to 1970s
• Commonly described as “the golden age of advertising”
• Emerging technologies, cable TV – 1970s to early 1990s
• The Dot Com to Pre-Smartphone & Social Media Era
• Social Media & Streaming Era
• [What Comes Next?]

Communications’ Creative Revolutions: Past, Present, Future?

• Advertising’s “Creative Revolution”- 1950s to 1970s
• Commonly described as “the golden age of advertising”
• Emerging technologies, cable TV – 1970s to early 1990s
• The Dot Com to Pre-Smartphone & Social Media Era
• Social Media & Streaming Era
• [What Comes Next?]

Communications’ Creative Revolutions: Past, Present, Future?

• Advertising’s “Creative Revolution”- 1950s to 1970s
• Commonly described as “the golden age of advertising”
• Emerging technologies, cable TV – 1970s to early 1990s
• The Dot Com to Pre-Smartphone & Social Media Era
• Social Media & Streaming Era
• [What Comes Next?]

Communications’ Creative Revolutions: Past, Present, Future?

• Advertising’s “Creative Revolution”- 1950s to 1970s
• Commonly described as “the golden age of advertising”
• Emerging technologies, cable TV – 1970s to early 1990s
• The Dot Com to Pre-Smartphone & Social Media Era
• Social Media & Streaming Era
• [What Comes Next?]

Bill Bernbach�Creative Director (Art Director) �& co-founder of Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB)

The Medici Effect in Action

The Medici Effect in Action

• The Medici Effect, coined by Frans Johansson, 2004
• Used to define the dramatic flourish of ideas produced at the intersection of disciplines from two radically different fields
• A minor for a discipline already designed around �the Medici Effect will yield exponentially more capable students

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The Medici Effect in Action

• The Medici Effect, coined by Frans Johansson, 2004
• Used to define the dramatic flourish of ideas produced at the intersection of disciplines from two radically different fields
• A minor for a discipline already designed around �the Medici Effect will yield exponentially more capable students

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CCNY’s Ad/PR Minor is a ��BIG DEAL

The Medici Effect in Action

• The Medici Effect, coined by Frans Johansson, 2004
• Used to define the dramatic flourish of ideas produced at the intersection of disciplines of two different fields
• A minor for a discipline already designed around �the Medici Effect will yield exponentially more capable students

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Rethinking the Role of Marketing and Communications in Turbulent Time

• Ongoing shift away from centering the message, to centering the medium
• “The Attention Economy” – attention (and data) as currency
• Hyperinvestment in audience targeting – media technology, divestment in creativity – the message being communicated

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The Medium is the Message (?)

“Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication.”

- Marshall McLuhan

Communications as Dialogue vs Spectacle

Philosopher Guy Debord prophesied modern media�

“The reigning economic system is �a vicious circle of isolation. �Its technologies are based on isolation, �and they contribute to that same isolation. �From automobiles to television, the goods that the spectacular system chooses to produce also serve it as weapons for constantly reinforcing the conditions that engender “lonely crowds.” �

“The Society of the Spectacle”, 1967

Former U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Loneliness

Dr. Vivek H Murthy, released a Surgeon General Advisory in May 2023, calling attention to the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection in our country.�

“...about one-in-two adults in America reported experiencing loneliness. �And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic cut off so many of us from friends, loved ones, and support systems, exacerbating loneliness and isolation.”

SOURCE: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf

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Capitalism is Dead (?) – Technofeudalism Killed It

Shift from ownership to “as a service”/rental/cloud

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Key traits of technofeudalism:

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• Rent extraction as a primary business model
• Unpaid labor of users as algorithm trainers
• Open marketplaces cede to algorithmic markets
• Your data exchanged as currency (you, the product)

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https://yieldpro.com/pdf/infographics/2024/0910/friedman.pdf

Wall Street (1987 film)

“Those of us who stand outside the circle of this society’s definition of acceptable women; those of us who have been forged in the crucibles of difference—those of us who are poor, who are lesbians, who are Black, who are older—know that �survival is not an academic skill. �It is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths. �For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. �They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. �And this fact is only threatening to those women who still define the master’s house as their only source of support.” ��- Audre Lorde on embracing intersectionality race, class, sexuality, etc. – as the path to liberation

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/audre-lorde-the-master-s-tools-will-never-dismantle-the-master-s-house

We Must Empower the Brand Builders of the Future

As industries (and Wall St.) hyperinvest in technology,�and while companies and society center �training algorithms and AI models over�training its people,�we must prioritize our people, our conversations, and our communities, and build innovation -�and brands - at the intersection of disciplines.

Physical �Availability

Physical �Availability

Mental �Availability

Where Do We Go From Here?

• To build the brands of the future, we must build the people and communities of the future
• Academic steering toward community – longevity �– vs convenience & isolation – trend chasing
• Launch new minor @ CCNY (tentative Fall 2026)
• Matriculation agreement w/ Bronx Community College??

Where Do We Go From Here?

• To build the brands of the future, we must build the people and communities of the future
• Academic steering toward community – longevity �– vs convenience & isolation – trend chasing
• Launch new minor @ CCNY (tentative Fall 2026)
• Matriculation agreement w/ Bronx Community College??

Where Do We Go From Here?

• To build the brands of the future, we must build the people and communities of the future
• Academic steering toward community – longevity �– vs convenience & isolation – trend chasing
• Launch new minor @ CCNY (tentative Fall 2026)
• Matriculation agreement w/ Bronx Community College??

Where Do We Go From Here?

• To build the brands of the future, we must build the people and communities of the future
• Academic steering toward community – longevity �– vs convenience & isolation – trend chasing
• Launch new minor @ CCNY (tentative Fall 2026)
• Matriculation agreement w/ Bronx Community College??

Where Do We Go From Here?

• To build the brands of the future, we must build the people and communities of the future
• Academic steering toward community – longevity �– vs convenience & isolation – trend chasing
• Launch new minor @ CCNY (tentative Fall 2026)
• Matriculation agreement w/ Bronx Community College??

Where Do We Go From Here?

• To build the brands of the future, we must build the people and communities of the future
• Academic steering toward community – longevity �– vs convenience & isolation – trend chasing
• Launch new minor @ CCNY (tentative Fall 2026)
• Articulation agreement w/ Bronx Community College??

THANK YOU!

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“Why We Must Commune: �Rethinking the Role of Marketing and Communications �in Turbulent Times”�Presented by Assistant Professor Javier Garcia,�The City College of New York

Friday, February 20^th, 2026, 9:45AM