Art & Copy (2009)

ART & COPY is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (SURFWISE, SCRATCH, HYPE!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential ... See full summary »

Director:

Doug Pray

Writers:

Gregory Beauchamp (original concept), Kirk Souder (original concept),

Stars:

Lee Clow, Hal Riney, Mary Wells

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Lee Clow	...	Himself
Jim Durfee	...	Himself
Cliff Freeman	...	Himself
Jeff Goodby	...	Himself
David Kennedy	...	Himself
George Lois	...	Himself
Charlie Moss	...	Himself
Hal Riney	...	Himself
Phyllis K. Robinson	...	Herself
Ed Rollins	...	Himself
Rich Silverstein	...	Himself
Mary Wells	...	Herself
Dan Wieden	...	Himself

Storyline

ART & COPY is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (SURFWISE, SCRATCH, HYPE!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time -- people who've profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising's "creative revolution" of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in ART & COPY were responsible for "Just Do It," "I Love NY," "Where's the Beef?," "Got Milk," "Think Different," and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their...

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Plot Keywords:

apple computer | punctuation in title | ampersand in title | advertising

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Taglines:

Creativity can solve anything

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 August 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tehni kai diafimisi

Company Credits

Production Co:

Art&Industry, Granite Pass, One Club, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Dan Wieden: I think the real risk comes in being willing to try to be authentic.

User Reviews

Self-serving twaddle

This film starts off strongly and contains some interesting interviews with some famous and some less well-known admen and women. But aside from brief and half-hearted questioning towards the end of the film, most of the subjects interviewed display the typical pathology of ad industry "creatives": they denigrate their clients for their lack of imagination (Hal Riney says outright that the personality he creates is more important than the product) while presenting themselves as creative artists. Deep down, they know they are whores, and thus they never tire of explaining why they are not.

Countless times we are treating to disquisitions on the creative nature of what they do, how it "reaches so many people" and this "at the same time", as if this meant something. Comparisons to the work of Toulouse-Lautrec are made. The suggestion that the work consists in getting people to buy useless products is rebuffed with the argument that it is impossible to get people to do what they don't want to do. Yet many of the subjects boast that they can get people to feel whatever emotion they want and that they can create mass movements out of thin air.

While there are occasional inserts of ad-industry data which might or might not shock you (likely not), no consequences are drawn. Many of the interviews are intercut with shots and images that flatter the subjects' self-image as mavericks. If the director has any critical distance on his subjects, it is so well-camouflaged as to be indetectable.

Towards the middle of the film, one adman explains that great ads are based on truth, and that people can tell whether you are telling the truth and will react to it. If this film is telling the truth, then Michelangelo missed his calling.