Client | TNHCC 台北文創記憶中心

Who even watches ads anymore?

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In an age where people are willing to pay to skip advertisements entirely, curating an exhibition about advertising feels like asking the obvious: Does anyone still care?

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But advertising has always been more than a sales pitch—it's a catalyst for value exchange between brands and people. When an ad resonates with the values people care about, it doesn't just promote a product - it invites people to identify with a brand's worldview and, ultimately, influences consumer behavior. That's why we chose “value exchange” as the strategic action behind this exhibition—using advertising to reflect shifts in Taiwan's societal values since the end of martial law, and to reassert the cultural and emotional relevance of ads today.

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We selected the familiar setting of a supermarket—a space saturated with products and purchase decisions—as the stage for this exhibition. Welcome to AD SUPER(S)MART, a conceptual “advertising supermarket” where each aisle represents a social value deeply embedded in everyday life in post-martial-law Taiwan: gender equality, labor rights, consumer finance, housing justice, environmental sustainability, and more.

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Inside this supermarket, advertisements are no longer just media—they are the products themselves. These ad “goods,” drawn from various eras, reflect evolving beliefs and priorities, waiting on the shelves to be chosen, questioned, or endorsed by today's consumers.

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At AD SUPER(S)MART, your currency is your attention. Every ad is priced in viewing time, and shoppers can scan the products (ads) to explore their production backstories—the creative context behind each campaign. You “check out” by selecting the ads that resonate with your values, and in return, you receive a personal receipt of values—a breakdown of which societal issues you gave the most attention to.

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It's our way of asking:
In your next real-world purchase, which values will you choose to buy into?