Creativity for All
In the documentary “Art & Copy,” the creatives are the heroes
Last week we gave a nod to the film, “Art & Copy” a documentary about creative folks in the agency world. Well, we finally saw “Art & Copy” a few days ago, and what a wild ride it turned out to be. For agency creatives, it has to be the must-see film of the year.
Directed by documentarian Doug Pray, whose award-winning credits include “Surfwise,” “Scratch” and “Hype,” “Art & Copy,” follows the paths of some of the greatest creative minds in advertising of the last half century. Among the superstars of creativity who make the film work are George Lois (Esquire), Mary Wells (DDB Worldwide), Dan Wieden, David Kennedy (Wieden+Kennedy), Cliff Freeman (Cliff Freeman & Partners), Lee Clow (TBWAChiatDay; pictured at right) and Hal Riney (Publicis), among others. It also discusses their trials and tribulations in creating masterpieces of the Madison Avenue trade, such as “Where’s the Beef?,” “Just Do It,” “I Heart NY,” “Got Milk?,” “I Want My MTV,” and Apple’s ground breaking “1984” and “Think Different” campaigns.
What strikes the viewer most is each creative’s commitment to bringing something different to the grand stage of advertising, showing that advertising can do more than just sell widgets, hamburgers or fizzy sugar water. Artfully done, it can change perceptions and even lives.
Take for example, Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign, which became a national catch-phrase, a call-to-action far beyond the buying of Nike sneakers, and today even the name of an album by a Dutch rock group. After the release of the campaign, the Nike offices were deluged with mail from people who said how “Just Do It” changed their ways of thinking. They “just did” everything from finally deciding to get fit to finally deciding to get a divorce.
Or, take Apple’s “1984” ad created by Chiat Day, which turned Super Bowl advertising into a national event. No computers are shown in the ad, and there is no call to buy anything. Instead, the commercial evoked the spirit of rebellion and revolution, one that not only made the Mac into the cutting edge personal—rather than corporate—computing brand, but transformed the very perception about what computing could be. And it spoke to and inspired an entire generation fed up with the status quo, urging them to change their own ways of thinking.
Now that’s advertising, baby!
The fundamental message of “Art & Copy?” Go forth and create, and let your voice be heard, even amid the howling winds of mediocrity.
Below is Braniff Airlines’ famous commercial, “The End of the Plain Plane,” championed by “Art & Copy” cast member, Mary Wells, who was also the first female CEO of a NYSE company as well as the creator of the “I Heart New York” slogan that reputedly saved the city from fiscal ruin. It may seem dated today, with its flight attendants in space helmets and go-go boots, but in 1965, it was on the very edge. Enjoy.
—Michael Mattis
(Top Image: Lee Clow, surfer and chairman and chief creative officer of TBWA WorldwideChiatDay, from the film ART & COPY directed by Doug Pray.)
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[ 3 comments | Categories: Ad Creation, General, Industry Trends, Video and Photos ]
[...] with feeling In an intriguing piece in the libertarian journal Reason, Greg Beato cites the film “Art & Copy” and the cable TV hit “Mad Men,” to show that, contrary to popular opinion, [...]
[...] with feeling In an intriguing piece in the libertarian journal Reason, Greg Beato cites the film “Art & Copy” and the cable TV hit “Mad Men,” to show that, contrary to popular opinion, [...]
[...] with feeling In an intriguing piece in the libertarian journal Reason, Greg Beato cites the film “Art & Copy” and the cable TV hit “Mad Men,” to show that, contrary to popular opinion, [...]