Legendary AdMen Talking. Lois, Clow, Weiden, Kennedy and Silverstein.

Ahhhhh, to be a fly on the wall in the room this "round table" conversation took place would nothing short of being amongst advertising royalty.

Some of the biggest names in advertising gather around the table with "Art & Copy" director Doug Pray and talked about the life-enhancing, world-changing powers of advertising and how it has change society, developed culture and made each of them "career" lifers.


Included in the conversation are the films director Doug Pray, along with modern day Advertising  Mad Men Rich Silverstein of Goodby Silverstein the mind behind the "Got Milk?" campaign. Lee Clow  of TBWAChiat/Day creator of the famed Apple "1984" Super Bowl Spot and the "Think Different" campaign, Dan Wieden and David Kennedy of Wieden + Kennedy who have been the men behind Nike and the iconic" Just Do It" and the legendary advertising Hall of Famer George Lois.

Art & Copy is now considered the best "Recruitment" films to encourage anyone to consider a career in advertising. "Art & Copy" has been making the its rounds across the globe to packed theaters, art schools and community centers gaining nothing but outstanding reviews.

This short video is truly a blessing to hear from the real life and legendary "MadMen" of the second "Creative Revolution".

Rebranding A Major Brand? America.

For years the battle cry was those "Ugly Americans". It was awful, but was it deserved?


There was a time Americans would neatly place Canadian flags on their backpacks and baggage while traveling the world. Why? It became simple, the brand was tarnished. It became a bully. It was seen all things wrong. Expansion without compassion. And time went on without repair.

So, now America is like any company teetering on bankruptcy -- having lost so credibility and brand currency, and never more so then over the past eight years. What can be done? Well, a magazine named PAPER has invited some of the best visual communicators in the United States, from ad gurus to artists to create original advertising concepts that could redefine the country's image. A welcome to U.S.A. 2.0.

Here are the details and my personal favorites. But it is Alex Bogusky's "Flag" that blew me away. I believe his rationale is as brilliant as the design. When President Obama included non-believers is his inauguration speech he touched so many while equally surprising so many.

I sent Alex a note about my feelings on his piece and the rationale, he told me he would love to turn it into a painting if "I could only find the time". Let's hope he does... this piece is timeless and potent.

(To see all the results click here)

THE BRIEF:

From: Kim Hastreiter
Subject: Rebranding America
Date: March 16, 2009 4:54:26 PM EDT

To: Alex Bogusky, Dan Wieden, Ivan Chermayeff, Kevin Roberts, Andy Spade, Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Peter Buchanan-Smith, Steve Powers, Chris Johanson, Jonathan Horowitz, Mike Mills, Geoff McFetridge, Bruce High Quality Foundation, Alex Kalman

Hello! I'm a great fan of yours so I wanted to approach you about participating in a piece I am producing for my annual Design issue of the magazine (themed "homesweethome"). I felt compelled to include you in this piece as you are truly some of my personal favorite fearless creative communicators.

As the times we are living in are so radical, I think radical ideas are needed to help save our proverbial asses and to create a new path forward into what I like to call the "new normal". The best part of being in deep shit is that with it comes a unique opportunity for progressive thinking because the status quo is desperate. I thought it appropriate to dedicate the issue to home, and so the subject of one piece I am producing is about our homeland: The U.S. of A.

I have chosen a stellar list of my favorite mavericks (you are one!) and invited you all to create a visual page ---as if it was an ad--- for America. HOW WOULD YOU REBRAND AMERICA??? (we certainly need it desperately!) How would you make people love us again? How would you change our brand image? Our perception abroad? How could you project our future to our citizens? If America had a new ad campaign, what would it look like? I will run the portfolio of these "Ads for America" as the editorial well in the May issue of PAPER.

I know you are big cheeses, and yes, super busy, but I really hope you are inspired to contribute something that will then inspire others. To me this is an opportunity to share with our readers some amazing ideas from the best thinkers I know of using our pages. Can you (or your team) come up with something for this issue?

With Admiration,
K

"Our forefathers had the brilliance to provide for the separation of church and state, but it hasn't really been adhered to. For example, in the '50s "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance. I think the "separation" may actually be part of the issue. Perhaps it would work better to unite the nation, the states and all faiths -- including the lack of faith -- and sew it into the flag, so we never forget that this was what our forefathers wanted."

"My dream is for all Americans to reach out to the world and inspire everyone they touch to come together and rebuild a new world of optimism, joy and shared responsibility. Actions speak louder than ads."

Kevin Roberts is the worldwide CEO and creative force behind Saatchi & Saatchi. He works with a team of 6,000 people across 86 countries. Well known for his revolutionary marketing theory of "Lovemarks," which helps to connect brands with emotions, Roberts is also the author of marketing and management books Lovemarks: the Future Beyond Brands, and sisomo: the future on screen.

"America is a forever-young country, branding and rebranding itself incessantly. This is no country for old ad people to re-imagine -- that is best accomplished by the youngest hearts and minds. And that is why we turned to W+K12. They did not disappoint."

Peter Buchanan-Smith started his own New York-based graphic design company, Buchanan-Smith, in 2006. He also teaches graphic design at The School of Visual Arts in New York.

"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth. And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace." President Barack Obama, inaugural remarks (January 20, 2009)

Got Ads? Got Film?

Art & Copy Comes to Toronto and HotDocs to Inspire this weekend.

I attended Shift Disturbers today, and got a see an amazing 12 minute trailer/teaser of Art & Copy. Amazing.

One of the great insights came from David Baldwin, Chairman of the Board, The One Club for Art & Copy, who stated, "the film was more or less Chapter One in the historic perspective, and we currently writing the future chapters".

Love the opening sequence of the trailer (below) and the cave art. There was a famous quote from Marshall McLuhan, "Ads are the cave art of the twentieth century", what a perfect start to the film.

The 12 minutes was a walk down memory lane seeing , George Louis, many vintage images of Bill Burnbach (my advertising hero and birthday partner) and DDB who single-handedly rewrote the rules of advertising, and then hearing legendary ad women Mary Wells Lawrence and Phyllis Robinson sahre their thoughts, was more then heart warming, it was down to earth inspirational.

Reminder, Art & Copy plays May 1st and 3rd in Toronto during HotDocs.

Here is my original BlogPost. Watch the video when you're done. Inspiring.

Originally Posted On A View From An AdGuy March 28, 2009

Got creativity?

Got manipulation?

Got art?

Is great advertising actually a rare and rebellious accomplishment more akin to—dare we ever say it—art?

Advertising has without question has made a profound effect on modern culture. This goes without question or debate. You see an average of 5,000 ads every day. Most of them suck. Handfuls are good, only a few look and feel like-and indeed really are-art.

Slow Dissolve, ECU full screen, Art & Copy The Film.

Living in Toronto places us in the center of the Canadian Advertising Universe and this in turn puts us in the center of culture and art. Hot Docs, the Canadian International Documentary Festival is North America's largest documentary festival, conference and market. Each year, the Festival presents a selection of more than 150 cutting-edge documentaries from Canada and around the globe and runs April 30th to May 10th and this year we get a look inside some of the innovative advertising campaigns of our time and the creative rebels behind them are the fascinating subjects of acclaimed filmmaker Doug Pray.

Toronto screenings at Hot Docs will be held at the Isabel Bader Theatre on May 1st at 930pm and 3rd at 4pm. Tickets are on sale now.

Mr. Pray (Scratch, Surfwise) weaves a web heartfelt and dazzling footage of TV satellites being launched and billboards being erected with some of the most remarkable ad campaigns of all time. Like the talented subjects he profiles, Pray creates a rousing synthesis of art, commerce, and human emotion.

ART & COPY reveals the stories behind and the personal odysseys of some of the most influential advertising visionaries of our time and their campaigns, including Lee Clow (Apple Computer 1984, and today’s iPod); Dan Wieden (“Just Do It”); Phyllis K. Robinson (who invented the “me generation” with Clairol); the late and great Hal Riney (Pepsi Choice of A New Generation and also helped President Reagan get elected); and George Lois (who saved MTV and launched Tommy Hilfiger overnight).

The movie was filmed and edited during a four-year period and had an unusual source for its funding — The One Club, a non-profit organization dedicated to the craft of advertising headquartered in New York.

Art & Copy provides a window into the creative process and the individuals who have changed our lives in ways we may not realize,” said Mary Warlick, CEO of The One Club. “The movie looks at advertising not as products flying off the shelf but as the work of a few American heroes who feel passionately about their craft, ideas, and the ability of ideas to change how people feel.”

Art & Copy takes us inside a powerful, yet surprisingly unknown, industry to reveal the most influential creative forces tapping the zeitgeist of our time.

Think of those commercials we can never seem to get out of our heads. Each one is the brain child of an industry typically associated with pandering and manipulation.

Beginning in the 1960s, a creative revolution revitalized the advertising industry. Bill Bernbach launched the Volkswagen Beetle, prompting viewers to "think small." Dan Wieden coined "Just Do It" and forever changed the way we motivate ourselves athletically. Phyllis Robinson empowered the "me generation" with a Clairol tagline. Hal Riney all but insured Reagan's reelection with heart-tugging TV ads. Mary Wells Lawrence reinvented the big bad apple via her "I love NY" campaign. George Lois gave Tommy Hilfiger the makeover of a lifetime, while Cliff Freeman wondered "Where's the beef?" and Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein asked, "Got Milk?"

Yes, we sell widgets and wackiness, but just these are the artists, they tap zeitgeists and rouse emotion that have allowed to "Think Different" and "Just Do It".

Pray's captivating tribute- like an ad itself-sells you on the undeniable art of advertising.

Thanks to Aviva Cohen a former student of mine for bring the Toronto Hot Docs presentation dates to my attention.

Video Roundtable from the Sundance Film Festival:

Doug Pray, Filmmaker of Art and Copy, Rich Silverstein of Goodby Silverstein (Got Milk), Lee Clow of TBWAChiat/Day (Think Different), Dan Wieden and David Kennedy of Wieden + Kennedy (Just Do It), and the legendary George Lois (I Want My MTV).

Also see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju0Fq_QltPw