Review: “Art & Copy”
Written on March 25th, 2010 by Hammonds Oen
Written on March 25th, 2010 by Hammonds Oen
Art & Copy
When most people think about the advertising industry, they usually think of A&E’s “Mad Men.” They think of gorgeous, well-dressed men and women sipping fine bourbon and chain-smoking cigarettes during lunch. A documentary about the advertising business, Art & Copy, will hopefully change that.
Filmmaker Doug Pray focuses on some of the free-spirited advertising moguls of the ’70s and ’80s that changed the business: Mary Wells, George Lois, Hal Riney, Dan Wieden, and others. These are the people who brought “Where’s the beef?,” Just Do It,” and “Got milk?” into the nation’s collective consciousness. They believed that the best advertising is based on big, simple ideas and powerful emotions.
George Lois is the film’s funniest, and most memorable figure, especially when he reminisces about his work for Esquire magazine, Tommy Hilfiger and MTV. A particularly interesting tidbit was the story of when Lois urged Tommy Hilfiger (who at the time was unknown) to approve a campaign of comparing him to some of the great fashion designers of the twentieth century. Mr. Lois promised him a memorable campaign–Hilfiger just had to continue producing a product that lived up to the advertising.
The film gives such wonderful examples of pure American, in-your-face non-conformity that it spoils it all if its subject is reduced to selling shoes or airplane tickets. One executive aptly points out that Toulouse Lautrec only wanted to direct business to the Follies when he created his famous series of posters. Modern ad campaigns morph into fine art when they are done right. Think about it. Are we really a better society because Domino’s saw a sharp spike in sales or Delta made the friendly skies friendlier with more comfortable economy seats?
Art & Copy was an inspiration for me to keep doing what I love. Advertising doesn’t have to be a gray block of copy, but can entertain as well as art. In the end, this film is a wonderful advertisement for advertisers.
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Thursday, January 5th 2012 at 2:37 am |