Thanks to FLIR Creative, I won two passes to Art & Copy at the Pickford here in Bellingham, WA. Art & Copy is a documentary about advertising that covers the brilliant campaigns of advertising giants like George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow and Hal Riney. Folks that are responsible for catch phrases like “I Love NY,” “Got Milk,” Nike’s “Just Do It,” and Apple’s “Think Different.” The film discusses the monumental occurance of combining copywriters and designers, using great words along with great photos to achieve ultimate campaign success. The film is packed with informational tidbits about the advertising industry (like: 80% of advertising is controlled by 4 global advertising agencies) that astounds the viewer and gets you thinking.
Working in the social media marketing end of Mindfly, I had no idea what to expect from Art & Copy. Therefore, I was surprised when Director Doug Pray focused on “good advertising.” It is admitted that most advertising is terrible and Pray is quoted as saying:
I didn’t want to make a doc that just trashes trashy advertising. Too easy, too obvious, and why bother? Instead, granted access to a handful of the greatest advertising minds of the last fifty years, I felt it could be a more powerful statement to focus the film only on those rare few who actually moved and inspired our culture with their work.
And I have to agree. Per Art & Copy, 65% of Americans believe they’re bombarded with advertising, yet I remember the good ones; Budweiser’s 1994 Super Bowl commercial and Michael Jordan’s “Failure” Nike commercial to name a few.
For me, the most memorable campaign discussed in Art & Copy related to milk. Goodby Silverstein & Partners talk about how difficult it can be to revitalize an ad campaign for an everyday “boring” commodity like milk. Packaging is stagnant, colors are traditional and when consumers are asked “what brand of milk do you drink?” they answer “2%” vs. “Darigold.” By tapping into their creative teams, Goodby Silverstein transitioned from the slightly less truthful campaign “Milk: It Does a Body Good” to the much catchier, more applicable, though admittedly less grammatically correct, “got milk?” And a breath of life was given to an ordinary, everyday product.
When comparing social media marketing to traditional advertising, I can’t seem to recall one catchy or memorable ad despite being on the web all day, 5 days a week. I am left with the feeling that social media marketing has a lot to learn from traditional advertising. Perhaps, in the end, there really is no competition.
P.S. Ever wonder where slogans come from? Art & Copy admits that Nike’s “Just Do It” catch phrase was inspired by convicted killer Gary Gilmore’s last words before his execution: “Let’s do it.” Hmmmm.
