Pitch People
★ 8.5 · 1999 · 87m · Documentary
The art of the "pitch" and its role in society, as told by many of the pitch industry's greatest salesmen, including Arnold Morris, Sandy Mason, Lester Morris, Wally Nash and Ed McMahon as well as a look at the Popeil family.
More Like This
Behind the Screens, Hollywood Goes Hypercommercial
2000
Hollywood movies are rapidly becoming vehicles for the ulterior marketing and advertising motives of studios and their owners, rather than entertainment in their own right. Behind the Screens explores this trend toward "hypercommercialism" through phenomena such as product placement, tie-ins, merchandising and cross-promotions. It combines multiple examples taken directly from the movies with incisive interviews provided by film scholars, cultural critics, political economists, and an Oscar-nominated screenwriter. Behind the Screens presents an accessible argument designed for school and college-age audiences-- precisely the demographic most prized by both Hollywood studios and advertisers alike. It features examples drawn from movies such as Wayne's World, Forrest Gump, The Lion King, Summer of Sam, and Toy Story.
More info →
Helvetica
2007 · ★ 7.2
Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.
More info →X-Rated: The Ads They Couldn't Show
2005 · ★ 4
Every year, thousands of commercials are made that never reach our TV screens, deemed too shocking to see. In order to make it onto the screen, they must clear all manner of obstacles, from fussy clients to obsessive regulators and restrictive rights issues. X-Rated takes a look at these outlawed pieces of advertising, revealing the most explicit, controversial and shocking ads never seen. These are ads that break all manner of taboos, from sex, violence, blasphemy, homosexuality, animal cruelty, rapping pensioners, swearing children, suicidal toys and naked athletes to Kylie in her undies on a bucking bronco. Amongst the contributors are advertising executives, producers and censors. The programme also takes a look at the embarrassing world of western celebrities in Japanese ads.
More info →
Greetings From Planet Smurf
2018 · ★ 8.2
The Smurfs were created in 1958 by the Belgian comic author Peyo (Pierre Culliford, 1928-1992) and they are one of Belgium's most recognized exports. From Brussels to Los Angeles, via Dubai, a journey into the tiny world of the famous little blue people, from the story of the creation of the original comic to the account of their huge global commercial exploitation.
More info →
POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
2011 · ★ 6.4
A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement that is financed and made possible by brands, advertising and product placement.
More info →
The Light Bulb Conspiracy
2010 · ★ 7.6
Once upon a time... consumer goods were built to last. Then, in the 1920’s, a group of businessmen realized that the longer their product lasted, the less money they made, thus Planned Obsolescence was born, and manufacturers have been engineering products to fail ever since. Combining investigative research and rare archive footage with analysis by those working on ways to save both the economy and the environment, this documentary charts the creation of ‘engineering to fail’, its rise to prominence and its recent fall from grace.
More info →Screenagers
1967 · ★ 6
Early 1960s documentary into the spending habit of 'screenagers' (young cinema-goers aged between 16-24). Based on Mark Abrams' 1959 report, 'The Teenage Consumer'.
More info →
The Real Saatchis: Masters of Illusion
1999
Featuring interviews with Sir John Hegarty, Lord Tim Bell and Robert E. Jacoby, The Real Saatchis: Masters of Illusion chronicles the rise and fall of Britain's largest advertising agency,
More info →
The Merchants of Cool
2001 · ★ 7.5
A documentary on the marketing of pop culture to Teenagers.
More info →
Programming the Nation?
2011 · ★ 6.2
Programming the Nation? takes an encompassing look at the history of subliminal messaging in America. According to many authorities, since the late 1950s subliminal content has been tested and delivered through all forms of mass-media including Hollywood filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock and William Friedkin. Even our modern military has been accused of these practices in the "war on terror" against soldiers and civilians both abroad and at home. With eye-opening footage, revealing interviews, humorous anecdotes, and an array of visual effects, the film categorically explores the alleged usage of subliminals in advertising, music, film, television, anti-theft devices, political propaganda, military psychological operations, and advanced weapons development. Director Jeff Warrick makes it his personal mission to determine if these manipulative tactics have succeeded in "programming the nation?" Or, if subliminal messaging belongs in the category of what many consider urban legend.
More info →
Art & Copy
2009 · ★ 7
The personal odysseys of some of the most influential advertising visionaries of all time and the stories behind their campaigns.
More info →
Juzo Itami: The Man with 13 Faces
2007 · ★ 5
A documentary about the legendary Japanese filmmaker.
More info →