Art and Copy was an interesting change of pace from The Persuaders, especially in theme. It’s not as objective, in that it doesn’t really care about bringing in people who dislike the industry, but as an attempt to justify that industry that makes perfect sense. And the enthusiasm of the interviewees is really contagious, especially considering that advertisers as a whole are generally seen as unpalatable, irritating people.
A lot of the descriptions of advertising done well reminded me of other, more down-to-earth communicators, like historical criers, newspaper boys, bards and jesters. These people could be just as annoying as any YouTube advertisement, but it was taken for granted that any of them who irritated people were just bad at their jobs. No one blames comedians if an awful open-mic act bombs, and the same goes for any other art-form people take seriously. There’s at least a leg to stand on here if you’re an avowed anticonsumerist, and I think the implication toward the end that if the public space isn’t taken up by advertising it’ll be taken up by anti-government rhetoric is a really silly dismissal of communism, but for the average person complaining about the ten-second wait on a YouTube video, the problem isn’t that they’re being sold something but that there’s no charm or excitement in the pitch.
The idea that “We are in the art business when we do it well” deserves to be a maxim for most crafts, really. When I heard that, I realized that I’d never thought of a well-made movie trailer as an advertisement, and I actively enjoyed many more than the films they represented. They’re still trying to sell something to me, but I agree that it’s worth selling.
A perfect example of a trailer whose movie cannot possibly be as good.
That said, I don’t think I’d want to live in a world of extremely charming, well-made advertisements. There’s something scary about the idea that “It’s like you’re in water. It’s around you, it’s going to happen to you”, and a world of friendly, entertaining material selling me things I don’t need sounds like the worst kind of overstimulating chaos. I appreciate the existence of terrible ads, the ones that exist to fill up webpage sidebars or hold up my videos, if only because they remind me to be skeptical of the things I see. There’s a reason, after all, that “trying to sell you something” is a negative description.
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