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Adland – Where Commercials Come From
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Adland – Where Commercials Come From


This 1974 documentary produced by independent “Guerrilla Televison” video pioneers, TVTV, provides a stunning view of the people behind the advertising industry. Featuring legendary admen George Lois, Keith Reinhard, and Jerry Della Femina, actor and director Howie Morris, child star Mason Reese, Marshall Efron of 'American Dream Machine,' King Moody as Ronald McDonald, and many more. This insightful program provides a fun and often unbelievable look at where commercials come from. It's a time capsule of the post-Mad Men era in American influence peddling.

Credits

Original Title: Adland – Where Commercials Come From
Language: English original version
Country of Origin: USA
Year : 1974
Duration: 59 Min.
color, b/w
Editing: Chip Lord, Allen Rucker, Tom Weinberg, Hudson Marquez
Production: TVTV, WTTW Chicago, Wendy Appel, Skip Blumberg, Anda Korsts, Chip Lord, Rita Ogden, Elon Soltes, The Videofreex, Hudson Marquez, Allen Rucker, Michael Shamberg, Tom Weinberg, Megan Williams


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About the Film

This program is best described in TVTV 's own words. Here is the on-screen text they provide as an opening to their 1974 production: '...admen - creative directors, art directors, copywriters, account executives, and film directors - are largely anonymous. They don't sign their work. They rarely appear on TV themselves. The public perceives admen as high-priced hucksters and con-artists. This program is about how a few admen and on-camera personalities view themselves, and their work.'

TVTV (short for Top Value Television) was a pioneering San Francisco-based video collective who adopted the new ½' Sony Portapak video equipment to make their own, alternative media, which they partially funded by selling rights to cable companies. Founded in 1972, they produced such classics as Four More Years and Lord of the Universe. TVTV's videos are in the permanent collections of major art museums including the MoMA in New York. Their participants include members of other video collectives such as Ant Farm: Chip Lord, Doug Michels, Hudson Marquez and Curtis Schreier; the Videofreex, Skip Blumberg, Nancy Cain, Chuck Kennedy, and Parry Teasdale. Adland – Where Commercials Come From McDonald's talking cheeseburger. Are people more likely to buy fast food if it's human-like?

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