I WANT MY ADVERTISING

New documentary explores the power of a really good commercial

 

Did you know ...

“Just do it” was inspired by a news story about a man about to face execution by
firing squad. His last words were, “Let’s do it.”

If you go ...

“Art & Copy” opens at the IFC Center tomorrow. For more information, go to
www.artandcopyfilm.com.

 

Fill in the blank: Sometimes, you feel like a nut. Sometimes …

Many of us could finish the rest of that phrase with minimal effort. Heck, we could even sing it and visualize the original commercial (for Almond Joy and Mounds, those of you too young to remember the ’80s).

While we might take this kind of recognition for granted, it’s the dream of every advertising creative to reach that level of public awareness for the products they’re selling.

Given the massive impact that these ads can have, director Doug Pray set out to meet the powerful people behind them. Pray’s film, “Art & Copy,” is named after the merge of art and copy departments in the early ’60s — the first time the two came together to create advertising that went beyond a logo and a slogan.

From Clairol’s “It lets me be me” campaign, which is said to have defined the “me” generation, to Nike’s “Just Do It,” which motivated millions to do what was once unthinkable to them — leave husbands, lose weight, ask a girl out — the advertising that has endured has said much more about the human experience than the products they were meant to sell. It could be argued that advertising is the most potent art form there is, as Pray contends.  

“There are very few art forms where you can say, this is going to be shown to 10 million people several times a day,” explains Pray. “Are the people making the advertising putting themselves into it? It doesn’t matter what style an ad is done in, it just matters how human it is.”