Art & Copy

2008 Documentary

The advertising industry in America exists in a paradox -- while it's all but impossible to go a day without being exposed to the work of leading figures in the advertising business, very little is known about the people behind the ads and the process by which they're created. Filmmaker Doug Pray offers a rare look inside the business of advertising in the documentary Art & Copy, in which he profiles a number of the most respected men and women in the ad game as they talk about their work, their motivations, and their views on the creative process. Pray's interview subjects include Lee Clow, who created memorable television spots for Apple's Macintosh computer and later their iPod MP3 player; Rich Silverstein and Jeff Goodby, who gave new life to the dairy industry with the "Got Milk?" campaign; Hal Riney, who helped put Ronald Reagan in the White House with his "Morning in America" TV spot; George Lois, who remade popular culture by coining the slogan "I Want My MTV"; and Mary Wells, the first woman to run a major ad agency and the creator of the "I (heart) New York" campaign. Sponsored in part by the One Club, an organization dedicated to excellence in advertising, Art & Copy received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. more..

Director: Doug Pray

Reviews

  • It's jaunty and bright, but Pray never gets under the skin of things or ever truly questions the essence of advertising as an art or trade.

    Shawn Levy - Portland Oregonian

    19 January 2013

  • One of the main treats of Art & Copy is that it allows us to revisit those classic ads, all of which are just as exciting now as they were when they first ran.

    Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

    19 January 2013

  • An entertaining but also oddly naive documentary about American advertising.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    19 January 2013

  • There so much entertaining information in Art & Copy, a documentary about modern advertising, that it takes a while to realize we are being sold something

    Walter Addiego - The San Francisco Chronicle

    19 January 2013

  • The world may be going â??Mad Men,â? but Doug Prayâ??s documentary Art & Copy,â?which is being released just five days after the season premiere of that acclaimed television series, presents a very different picture of the advertising industry.

    - The New York Times

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking

    Newport Beach Film Festival (2009)

  • Outstanding Arts & Culture Programming

    News & Documentary Emmy Awards (2011)

  • Documentary

    Sundance Film Festival (2009)