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Speaking of a romantic age of advertising, here are videos of David Ogilvy of Ogilvy & Mather; and George Lois, who is responsible, along with Harold Hayes, for the classic Esquire covers, and on his own for the “I Want My MTV” campaign. The Ogilvy clip is from the ’60s and the Lois from 1974.
Tags: David Ogilvy, George Lois
One of the worst things about contemporary talk shows is that every host interviews the same guests who are pushing the same products in the same way. In his new time slot, Jimmy Kimmel recently broke that mold by speaking to advertising and Esquire legend George Lois. I hope he continues to be open-minded with his open couch space.
Tags: George Lois, Jimmy Kimmel
"The Passion of Muhammad Ali," April 1968, "Esquire."
Brilliant, blustery and belligerent, Bronx-born advertising legend George Lois created some of the most iconic magazine covers ever, alongside editor Harold Hayes, for Esquire in the 1960s. They were the kind of uncluttered, political and thought-provoking images that are rarely even attempted today in a magazine world governed by a focus-group mentality. Lois has never been shy about his utter disdain for contemporary magazine covers, but in a new Vice interview, he reveals a few he’s liked. An excerpt.
“Vice: Have you seen a single cover from the past few years that you liked?
George Lois: Once in a while, and it really thrills me.
The New Yorker did two or three terrific covers over the last couple of years that really nailed what was going on. That terrific drawing of Obama and Hilary Clinton in bed together, answering the phone, was fucking good. David Remnick is a fan of mine. We had lunch once and he said, ‘Do you think I should do some photographic covers?’ I said, ‘What? Are you fucking nuts? You’re the only mag that stands out or has a chance of standing out! You don’t fill it with blurbs; you have drawings, which in many cases are whimsical and sweet. That’s terrific, but you should do a cover about something that happened last Thursday. Have somebody come up with a great idea on Friday, and then it comes out the next Monday. You’ll nail what happened!’ Then he did three or four of them, and I said, ‘Jesus Christ, somebody’s listening to me!’ But that’s about it.”
Tags: David Remnick, George Lois
Ad exec Lee Clow has me wanting to buy an iPod.
When infamous murderer Gary Gilmore egged on his executioners with the phrase “Let’s do it,” he couldn’t have known he was helping a copywriter birth one of the most famous advertising campaigns in American history, Nike’s overwhelmingly successful “Just Do It” marketing blitz. When late ad exec Hal Riney struggled through an unhappy childhood in Washington state, he had no idea that his longing for an idyllic existence would someday provide images for Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America” TV commercials. The origins of these ubiquitous images from our lives make up the crux of Doug Pray’s intriguing documentary, Art & Copy.
If you’re looking for a philippic about the evils of capitalism, you have to search elsewhere. Perhaps still reeling emotionally from his thorny family documentary, Surfwise, Pray doesn’t focus on the moral implications of advertising but rather the people who fuel the industry by dreaming up 30-second spots in which American Tourister luggage is thrown into a gorilla cage. All of advertising’s living legends are interviewed. George Lois, the Bronx-born genius behind everything from the brilliant Harold Hayes-era Esquire covers in the ’60s to the astoundingly successful “I Want My MTV!” campaign in the ’80s, bemoans the current crop of young ad people. But the beat goes on, as talking heads share interesting insights into their profession.
Considering that advertising has used dubious means to sell everything from cigarettes to fat-laden foods to politicians, there is definitely room for numerous docs that examine the dark side of the ad biz. At one point in the movie, industry legend Mary Wells matter-of-factly states, “I think you manufacture any feeling you want to manufacture.” Wells is simply stating a rule of the game, but the sentence exists equally as a cautionary tale. That’s especially true since even the most seasoned ad people are often surprised by the reach and power of their campaigns as they permeate through the culture in unexpected ways. (Available as a rental via Netflix and other outlets.)
Tags: Doug Pray, Gary Gilmore, George Lois, Hal Riney, Mary Wells
