This might confuse...

The green italicized words are links to interesting morsels. They look strange to me for some reason...I don't want you to miss out on all the fun.

"Making money is art, and working is art, and good business is the best art." -Andy Warhol

Wow...interesting stuff in those last two chapters. I particularly enjoyed the comparisons of advertising art to that of the Holy Roman Empire. Thought out, and presented very well. Here we have a writer, as opposed to Klein, the rabble-rouser. He articulately presented his ideas in an objective and comprehensive manner. Nice job Mr. Twitchell.

Several things in the reading really sparked some ideas/memories for me. This blog may be kind of scatter shot, but hopefully interesting. Please excuse any rambling. I've slept little over the last week. Thursday thanks to...

RUSH

Sorry, just wanted to practice link-making....anyway...back to business.

As I've stated before I love the concept of the High vs. Low arts. The penultimate chapter of ADCULT accurately discussed the melding of the two, in comparison to selling religion during the Renaissance. Now, as we look back at art through the age of advertising we find many antique advertising artists praised as high art:

Alphonse Mucha

George Petty

Then came the pop art movement. These artists actually took advertising, graphics and comic art and made it high art:

Where Andy Warhol turns everyday items like a Soup Can and Box of Brillo pads into art. Or Roy Lichtenstein uses supremely low-brow comic book imagery to captivate the critics.

Now we have the high art world of film taking from comic books to be critically acclaimed:


And even garner Oscar-calibre films:



I have to say, I find many advertisements more interesting than this trash by one of America's financially more successful artists, Michael Godard.

And finally, for all of you pop art fans, here we have the complete blending of art and commerce:

Andy Warhol




More about the Art Cars

This is funny to see:



Salvador Dali, or should we say, SELLvador Dali?





And finally, it all comes together, early branding meets the arts. Song should have done their homework...Interestingly, branding, art and sports join to become one here:






"I'd asked around 10 or 15 people for suggestions. Finally one lady friend asked the right question, 'Well, what do you love most?' That's how I started painting money. "

-Andy Warhol

Two quick things as I look at the last post

Sorry, Sir Paul got placed in the wrong spot. He was to be after Bono and the boys. As I was looking things over I noticed that after posting. Also, do you think Bono, the preachy King of the Cause, investigated Apple's manufacturing processes before signing on with them and making the signature model, U2 iPod? What would Klein say about one of her troubadour's jumping to the other side, then making his Product (RED), a failed attempt to brand charity as fashion?

http://www.joinred.com/

I personally don't support this activity. Good idea, but I like to know where my donation dollars are going. This is a very interesting blog discussing whether it is raising awareness or just making us pay more for the same crap.

http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/2008/07/01/product-red-inspired-or-tired/

Joining the Adcult

Could this be the meeting of Upper Aesthetica and Lower Vulgaria, as Twitchell states?



Just thought those were funny terms, and what could be more Vulgar than a rat cooking your Upper Aesthetican food?

I always find the battle between high art and common art entertaining. Isn't it, in the end, the commoner who decides whether or not something has staying power? If the Medici's were the only people who decided what was successful it is unlikely that Michealangelo would still be held in such high regard.

Another thing that came to mind when I was reading was how strange it is that no matter how much money a company invests in and advertising plan it may or may not be successful. Three unsuccessful products:

In case one, we have a popular song, uplifting imagery and what I thought was a pretty good product. I drank the heck out of this stuff.



Here we have a similar situation, famous (at the time) band Papa Roach, product that tested well among the demographic, (teens and twentysomethings), and an image that resonated with that group as a result of The Fast and the Furious film. Result: failed product.



Here we have one of the greatest pitch men, a trusted face, one of the most popular men in America (at the time). Result: Failed product.



Many would argue that this failed because they tampered with something sacred. I think it was just an overblown ad campaign to sell more Coke, period. It worked I think.

Now here is one of the most revolutionary campaigns. The difference, no pitch man, no familiar songs or voices, just captivating imagery that turned the electronics world upside down, and re-legitimized a niche company.





Then the killer-bring in the superman, Bono. Sell records, iPods and eventually AIDS awareness.

And finally, Royalty, to do the same thing. Ladies and gentlemen, Sir Paul McCartney. I actually bought this crappy record too...





If you think advertising doesn't affect the news, I just implore you to watch 60 minutes over the next few weeks. See how many "guests" are pitching a book. Further research may turn up, as I've read, that these books are published by a subsidiary of CBS. News is entertainment folks. It sells ads, plain and simple. Just look at the also failing Katie Couric experiment. America's darling makes a newswoman not.

One final note, Twitchell discusses Easter, a candy holiday, and it's inability to compete with the beer holidays, such as New Years and Saint Pat's Day. You don't see ads like this promoting Hershey Bunnies...



Remind you of some other holiday? I love the shamrock jammies. Gotta get me some of those...

This is a good campaign too. I always chuckle watching this. Regarding 60 minutes, does this look familiar?









I particularly like the "horse doo doo" one.