David Horne asked me if I’d seen Art & Copy; I told him I’d heard of it, but knew little about it. But it kept coming up, either on Facebook or my Twitter feed, so I finally went to Netflix and queued it.
I was reluctant to watch a movie – even a documentary – about advertising and agencies. For years I’ve attempted to separate Burris from the kind of work ad agencies say they do, the comprehensive, we-do-everything, full-service descriptors I used to use myself when trying to thrust Burris into a client’s consideration set for a new marketing partner.
But then the DVD came in the mail on Saturday, and Saturday was a hotter-than-all-get-out day with more humidity than you can shake your dirty sunglasses at, so I holed up in front of the TV, iPad in lap in case I became bored, and gave it a try. It was spellbinding.
Since I had the iPad handy, I grabbed some of the wisdom imparted by the real talents in the business, including George Lois, Jeff Goodby, Hal Riney, Lee Clow and Stan Freeman. Here are some paraphrased quotes:
- Advertising is poison gas. (That was George Lois, and it’s hilarious how he describes what he means with that phrase.)
- Good creative connects or entertains society using our clients’ products
- Great advertising is strong ideas, simply presented.
- Good advertising is or becomes part of the culture. Bad advertising is pollution.
- We are in the art business when we do it well. (That’s Lee Clow.)
- Advertising is art serving capitalism.
There’s much of value in the 90-minute documentary. Love it or hate it or even ambivalent, it’s a good view. Watch Art & Copy.
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