Movie review: 'Art & Copy' a great documentary

For the Minnesota Star Tribune
November 5, 2009 at 11:07PM
Lee Clow, surfer and chairman and chief creative officer of TBWA WorldwideChiatDay, in front of a full-size iPod billboard inside the Los Angeles office. Clow has been largely responsible for Apple's ad campaigns since 1984. From the film ART & COPY directed by Doug Pray. Credit: Still from the movie.
'Art & Copy' (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A thoroughly entertaining documentary about the ad industry and the people who make it sparkle, "Art & Copy" -- unlike that popular TV show -- eschews soap opera to celebrate the brains behind such iconic ads as Volkswagen's "Lemon" campaign of the early 1960s, "Got Milk?" and everything Apple. Director Doug Pray follows a fascinating array of characters, including the woman who persuaded Braniff Airlines to paint its fleet in rainbow colors; the strait-laced Republican who put the San Francisco ad scene on the map, and even a fourth-generation "rotator" -- the guy who slaps up those annoying billboards. Too often Pray shows a tendency to overstatement, and don't expect him to genuinely question advertising's morality. "Art & Copy" offers an intriguing -- some might say frightening -- glimpse into the world that has prompted a generation of Americans to religiously tune into the Super Bowl just to watch those short movies that sell product.

about the writer

about the writer

Peter Schilling

More from Minnesota Star Tribune

See More
card image
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE, ASSOCIATED PRESS/The Minnesota Star Tribune

The "winners" have all been Turkeys, no matter the honor's name.

In this photo taken Monday, March 6, 2017, in San Francisco, released confidential files by The University of California of a sexual misconduct case, like this one against UC Santa Cruz Latin Studies professor Hector Perla is shown. Perla was accused of raping a student during a wine-tasting outing in June 2015. Some of the files are so heavily redacted that on many pages no words are visible. Perla is one of 113 UC employees found to have violated the system's sexual misconduct policies in rece