“Art & Copy” film reveals origins of famous ad campaigns
TO the list of great copy writers in advertising, add an unlikely name: Gary Gilmore.
Mr. Gilmore, the notorious spree-killer, uttered the words “Let’s do it” just before a firing squad executed him in Utah in 1977. Years later, the phrase became the inspiration for Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign.
A new film, “Art & Copy,” tells the story of some of the most famous advertising campaigns in America (over the past 30 years or so). What’s astounding about them is that many nearly were killed before emerging, sometimes not so triumphantly, from a battle with various ad agency and client creativity smotherers.
Some, thought to be “just okay” at the time, turned out to be hugely viral (though that word didn’t exist at the time). Like “Where’s the beef?” And even “Just Do It.”
Read the NYTimes story about the documentary, which features real “Mad Men” and “Mad Women” of the 60s, who created some of the most memorable campaigns of all time.
