Over Spring Break we were given the assignment to watch the film ‘Art & Copy’. The 2009 documentary went through some of the most iconic campaigns in history and how they each shook the industry standards one after the other. What I thought was really great about the film is they showed all of the fantastic outcomes of having art directors and copywriters work in the same room. This idea was initially the concept of Bill Bernbach but has remained an industry standard to produce the best work.

      Some of the recognizable campaigns showcased in the film were Bernbach’s ‘Think Small’ for Volkswagen and Goodby’s ‘Got Milk’ just to name a couple. The documentary did a great job showing us the process to come up with all of this iconic campaigns not just showing us the blend between art and copy but also showing us that coming up with cool campaigns isn’t always very glamorous. There were ideas that were literally tossed away in the garbage, like when Charlie Moss was working on the new Braniff plane campaign then picked up by someone else, Mary Wells who saw the genius in it.

      Another thing that the film taught me was that it’s better to be on a team. None of the genius campaigns like ‘Think Small’ or ‘Got Milk’ or even the Apple desktop commercials were just one person’s idea. They all came from a team of people who had a variety of solutions to solve their client’s problem. Through collaboration they each came up with something brilliant. For example, Goodby and Silverstein were a duo of opposites. One was extremely business savvy and the other was a lot more artistic in nature. Yet, these two worlds collided to create great campaigns we all know and respect.

     In terms of finding inspiration for iconic campaigns, the film also gave the insight that sometimes inspiration can come from the least expected places. For example, while Dan Weiden was working on the early stages of Nike, he paid attention to the clients wants: get people to start paying attention to fitness. Then he found the inspiration for Nikes ‘Just Do It’ slogan from an article about a man on death row for murder in Ohio who’s final words were ‘Let’s Do It’. I think this is a clear case of being able to find inspiration anywhere if you’re looking hard enough. To most people who read that, it didn’t have any significance but to Weiden, it was a solution to his client’s problem.    

 One campaign, in particular, that really stood out to me was George Lois’ Tommy Hilfiger billboard. Once he described advertising as ‘poisonous gas’ I knew he was going to be a standout for me. I was familiar with the art directors Esquire work and the iconic Muhammad Ali cover, but I never knew about this billboard for Tommy Hilfiger. What really stood out to me the most was the level of daringness it took to make such a statement as a new designer. It wasn’t like Hilfiger was the household staple it is now in 1986. To compare oneself to icons of Men’s Fashion like Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, and Calvin Klein was a risk. Hilfiger himself actually said it forced him to work harder. I think this is a powerful example of how copy can shape an ad. It was so audacious, Hilfiger had to explain it wasn’t his idea. That usually doesn’t happen for fashion campaigns because the goals are to sound like one voice. But, due to the large claim of being one of the four ‘Great American Designers for Men,’ he gave some context. On top of that, the billboard was in the center of New York City’s fashion district on 7th avenue where everyone in the industry spent time. It was bold and Lois said, “intentional to piss people off.” This risk obviously came with great reward but is such a great example of what good art direction can do.

 After watching Art & Copy, I further believe that advertising is just a perfect blend of marketing experiences and artistic expression. Marketing and visual art are the two heads on the beast called advertising. These two elements can’t exist without each other in this industry. It’s a balance of when you need more of one over the other, but the two combined have changed the way I look at almost everything for the better.

  To conclude the movie Art & Copy is something everyone studying or in the advertising/ design field should watch. It shows what the business and creative do so well when collaborated with some prime examples of that mixture.