Artful Deception

Apparently all it takes to get people to pay attention to you these days is to wear a nice suit, wear your hair short, and use the latest business jargon. Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno – also known as the Yes Men – have made a name for themselves impersonating officials from the World Trade Organization. Yes, they even made it on television. More recently they took their travellling show to New York City where they were able to succesfully infiltrate the Republican convention in New York City.

"We are trying to do the same thing now with Bush that we did with the W.T.O.,'' Mr. Bichl said. The Yes Men, who call their impersonations "identity corrections," hoped these routines would expose administration hypocrisy and generate publicity, as their activities did five years ago when their scathing Internet parody of Mr. Bush provoked him to file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission. While they try to deliver serious messages with their pranks, they also hope to draw attention to their film amid a crowded slate of political documentaries this campaign season. Piggybacking on presidential politics takes a page out of the Michael Moore marketing strategy for "Fahrenheit 9/11,'' but executives at United Artists say that unorthodox promotional methods may be the best way to reach a niche audience of sophisticated young people. "Ultimately, the way you get people to see this movie is through word of mouth,'' said Danny Rosett, the president of United Artists.

Although humorous and rather effective, the hoaxes masterminded by the Yes Men pale in comparison to NYU mathematical physicist Alan Sokal´s artful trickery.