Pop Art and Commercials

Advertising and Pop Art

Throughout the start of television, advertising has been a central part. Since advertising is the basis of funding of television, it influences the content hugely. The time limits of commercials in television and its specific purpose has made them develop their own style. Since commercials are such a large part of television, they have influenced how audiences watch television and the stylistic elements of television itself. Many video artists and filmmakers were influenced by commercials, as well as actually directing commercials in order to make money.
Most interestingly, commercials had a lasting impact on pop culture itself. One of the most prominent examples of the influence of television on art and popular culture is the work of Andy Warhol. He is also an example of an artist that gained fame from his commercial work before moving into his own artistic and more avant-garde work. However, his personal work was heavily influenced by his commercial work.
By the nature of their subjects, even early commercials all had many things in common. They were constrained by time and content, like any other thing that went on television, but more heavily so, as they had to focus on the product they were trying to sell fast enough to hold a viewer’s attention but still make them want the product. Since companies pay so much money for only a minute of footage on the air, each commercial has to be made with extreme caution toward the content being perfect. (Price, 1)
An interesting example of commercials developing style is the concept of color in the late fifties and sixties. While many artists focused on bringing out colors not necessarily for realism, many advertisers worked hard to develop photorealism for pictures. The technical limitations became an issue when the products they were advertising were not the same color as the product would be in real life. Colors would appear dull and muddy, not coming close to how the advertisers wanted to sell the product. (Spigel, 259)
In the 1960s many advertisers turned to new visual techniques to create commercials. They began to move away from the standard family audiences and commercials that used simple tactics of talking about the product. Advertisers began trying to target younger audiences in the 18-49 year old demographics. They shifted their ideas to appeal to younger “hipper” audiences. With the popularity of art films after World War II, experimental, art, and foreign films became popular in underground theaters. Since this was popular around a younger crowd, ad men figured they would be far more interested in commercials that referenced these films and used cutting-edge editing techniques to impress audiences. Commercials became more experimental, relying on the quality of the commercial rather than only showcasing the product. “You should not assume you have a completely captive audience in front of the telelvision set. You must still gain their attention, then their interest.” said Harry McMahan in his book “The Television Commercial. (Spigel, 214)
“The avant-garde of the theatre today is, more likely than not, the main influence on the mass media of tomorrow. And the mass media, in turn, shape a great deal of the thought and feeling of people throughout the western world.” wrote Martin Esslin. It seems commercials do affect the way the western world thinks, to a very large extent. Since they saturate our society so heavily, they influence our society almost more than non-commercial television. (Kurtz, 10)
Commercials take tactics from other forms of art as well. For example, the Surrealists would make art where the viewer disassociated the combined objects with the perceptions that went with them. Commercials use similar means to create new kinds of logic. They convince the viewer to look at the objects on screen associating them with something they are not associated with in “reality.” The items that are trying to be sold, be it tissues, toothpaste, cars, or food, become associated with good feelings- love, friendship, family, etc. Like surrealist art, the viewer understands this may not be true to life, but still makes the association with the feelings the artist intended. (Kurtz, 13)
Some commercials in the sixties were influenced by or direct spoofs of popular foreign or art-house films. One commercial for Foster Grant sunglasses featured Director Federico Fellini taking pictures of one of his actresses in front of the Coliseum. Another commercial for Xerox paper was an homage to Jean-Luc Godard. The advertisement was filmed in black and white. Set on a paris street it features a hip young woman taking her watch, keys, and cigarettes to create a collage in a Xerox copy machine. (Spigel, 224)
With the popularity of foreign films among youth culture during this time, NBC’s Sunday time slot was filled with a program called NBC Experiment In Television. At one point the show devoted an entire primetime episode to an autobiographical feature by Fellini, A Director’s Notebook. It had voiceover by Fellini himself, along with cutting edge cinematography that dramatized everyday situations to make them look like something different- as Fellini put it, to create “an exalted picturesque, neurotic world.” His sponsors quickly dropped the show for being too explicit. However, despite being dropped from programming, many advertising agencies began asking NBC for screenings of the show. It was not the program’s content or artistic value they wanted, but the filming and editing techniques. Advertisers wanted to learn from artistic filmmaking techniques in order to experiment with and advance the development of commercials. (Spigel, 229)
Sesame Street is another example of a mainstream program heavily influenced by commercials. The children’s show, an educational program, featured many shorts, skits, games and the like using combinations of puppets, animation, live action, costumes, and more. It has a focus on rhythm, a fast pace, and speed. Premiering in 1969, the show gave was made with a new generation of children in mind. It was experimental for its time, and much research was put into the making of the show, as well as the show’s results. Research showed that it helped pre-schooler’s learning capacity. The series learning techniques, however, seemed to mimic commercials in a sense. The shorts might have a minute of an introduction to a simple educational subject, such as basic math, spelling, or explanations of geometric shapes. The show might have thirty seconds of say, an “advertisement” for the letter “A.” Many educators were weary of Sesame Street when it first came out because of how much a lot of the show borrowed techniques used in television advertising. It brought up questions of whether children were being taught or just conditioned to easily take in advertisements when they grew older. Although now Sesame Street may not seem as hyper-active as many other children’s shows, it is a portrait of how the aesthetics of advertising can cross over to non-commercial programming to create an influential piece of work in and of itself. (Barnouw, 436)
The most prominent example of an artist whose primary influence was commercialism is Andy Warhol. Warhol’s work was a mixture of pop art and commercials. Some of his most famous artwork, such as the Campbell’s soup cans, was a seemingly simple exploration of commercialism in our society. What intrigues me most about Warhol’s work is it’s irony and ambiguity. Although the famous soup can painting is, in its essence an advertisement, it is also a commentary on how our society views consumerism. Are we fascinated by the visual imagery, or the idea that so much of the “art” we view on a daily basis is trying to sell us something? The Campbell’s cans were eventually used by the company to sell their products, but Warhol did not make this art with that in mind, necessarily. In his interviews he often offers little insight in the way of talking, using vague explanations of the intentions of his art. To me, his work showcases our fascination with consumerism. We are fascinated by the cans because they draw our attention to a visually exciting piece of work that has no “meaning.”
Warhol’s work plays on our senses, mirroring our society subtly and making us consider the implications of an advertisement. In addition to drawing our attention to consumer culture, art such as this highlights a general aesthetic of advertising. Although advertisements use many different styles to sell their products, it seems there is a general aesthetic to advertisements that has developed and matured throughout the years.
My interest in the influence of pop-art on commercials and commercials in pop-art lies mainly in my interest in anti-aesthetics and experimental film. I find it interesting how much advertising has affected non-commercial art. Money is at the root of television itself, and television has played such a large part in the development of film and video, be it artistic or commercial. Commercials had more money invested into them than television programs themselves. They became the center of television programming. The most talented directors, artists, and actors were hired to make commercials. Actors made more money in commercials than other jobs. (Barnouw, 540)
Although I now find ways to limit my viewing of commercials when viewing television programs, I was, like any other person, shown thousands of commercials as a child. Given my interest in film and video, commercials are clearly an influence on my own work. Commercials today are even more fast-paced and technologically advanced, and the excessiveness of fitting as much as possible into a short amount of time is the idea of most advertising. Not surprisingly, this is the case with much film today.

Annotated Bibliography

Barnouw, Eric Tube of Plenty New York: Oxford University Press, 1975
This book is an all inclusive history of American television, from its beginnings to modern times. There were several sections of the book that discuss television advertising. A section I found particularly helpful discussed the influence advertising had on the children’s show Sesame Street.
Kurtz, Bruce Spots: The Popular Art of American Television Commercials New York: Arts Communications, 1977
This is a collection of interviews with directors of commercials, as well as several chapters where the author discusses the aesthetics of commercials.
Price, Jonathan The Best Thing on TV New York: The Viking Press, 1978
This book discusses the history of commercials as well as giving examples of commercials. It discuses how commercials are made, detailing the financial and artistic risks of television commercials.
Spigel, Lynn TV By Design: Modern Art and the Rise of Network Television Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2008
This book details how television has influenced trends in popular culture and modern design. Particularly relevant to my studies were the last two chapters on commercials and Andy Warhol
Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol A film by Chuck Workman. Marilyn Lewis Entertainment, 1990
This documentary features a collection of interviews with people who knew Andy Warhol. It has footage of some of Warhol’s work, as well as interviews with Andy Warhol himself. Many of the interviews discuss Warhol’s art and the intentions that may have been behind his work.