The frightening and most difficult thing about being what somebody calls a creative person is that you have absolutely no idea where any of your thoughts come from really and especially you don’t have any idea about where they’re going to come from tomorrow. — Hal Riney
Screenings (here).
New York, NY
Fri. August 21 – Thurs. August 27 12:50, 2:35, 4:20, 6:20, 8:20, 10:20 p.m. IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY
Denver, CO
Fri. August 21 – Thurs. August 27 5:00, 7:30 p.m. Denver Film Society, 900 Auraria Parkway, Denver, CO
Chicago, IL
Fri. August 21 5:45, 7:45, 9:45 p.m. Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave, Chicago, IL
16 Comments
We need more unorthodox, edgy, and authentic advertising. There’s to much perceived awareness in the ad industry thinking they all unequivocally know what we want. They water it down, remove the veneer, and sell it to us as hip and cool. The fact is that the “target demographic” will often cringe at the majority of crappy ads that do nothing but reflect poorly upon the brands they represent. Let the creatives run free, unencumbered by the governing firewalls who think they know better.
@Rich Adams,
“unorthodox, edgy, and authentic” ?
The reality, most products are just more stuff. Often boring stuff. These products don’t ‘complete’ the person. It’s been said, “Advertising seeks to make people uncomfortable with who they are and what they possess”.
Adding drama, edge, unorthodox… can be contrary to an “authentic” cultural experience. Of course today many of our culture experiences (Western Consumer Culture) are manufactured.
@Bob,
“The reality, most products are just more stuff. Often boring stuff.”
Agreed. Hence the need for marketing to shine them up a bit.
“Advertising seeks to make people uncomfortable with who they are and what they possess”
I agree again. But think about most ad campaigns, and consider the inference that we, as consumers, can become someone or something else simply by associating ourselves with a product or service. The Marlboro Man is a great example.
My point about being unorthodox and edgy comes from observing so many ads that tried to be something that they (the company) were not. I wonder how many of these ads even made it past the storyboard phase.. They were just a bad idea from the start!
My assertion was to be unorthodox, edgy, and (most importantly) authentic to who you are as a company. Slick advertising and huge budgets might put forth the illusion that you are something other than what you are, but this illusion is short lived. The modern consumer is smart and resourceful, and now armed with the ability to really research purchase decisions in an unprecedented way through the internet.
[…] There are a lot of people in this business but damn few really good ones. — Hal Riney: “ […]
The children of MadMen?
I can not wait to see this documentary.
What? No scheduled screenings in San Francisco? I can’t wait to see this! But I guess I’m going to have to…
Saw this at Sundance this year–it’s a must see. Hal Riney was probably our favorite part of the film, and overall it was one of the highlights of the festival for us.
I look forward to seeing this. They are fairly good at updating their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-Copy/118376101284
I guess I’ll have to be in New York this week.
The ad industry has always been low-hanging fruit for anyone wanting to blast capitalism. But, having spent a decade in the business, I can say that 80% of the produced work is garbage and it really should be blasted away at.
Of course I’ll agree with the great Mr. Riney, but I’d add to that: “…but damn few really good campaigns.”
Advertising, at its best, is a contribution to society. At its worst, it’s nothing but an interruption…a quick trip to the john during your show, a page you have to turn to get back to the story, an annoyance in the beautiful scenery along the highway. It can be one of the most rewarding careers anyone could ask for. But, just like anything else – including photography – there are precious few people who put truly great work into the world.
As much as I miss the industry – and I really do pine away for it sometimes – I got out for one very important reason: I wanted my work to be a contribution, not an interruption.
And I can’t WAIT to see this doc!!!
If any of you are unfamiliar with Doug Pray, make a point to see his other documentaries. HYPE! is legendary in Seattle. Scratch and Infamy are also fantastic films.
In addition to being extremely talented, you can’t meet a nicer guy. A true gem in the industry.
I can’t wait to see Art & Copy.
@William Anthony, Right on, Wm!
A classic example from HYPE!. Leighton Beezer describing grunge:
Since I live 37 miles from the NEAREST store, please let me know when the DVD comes out. :>)
i found this to be absolutely thought provoking.
thanks!
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