Art & Copy 2009

Mike Hale, New York Times: The world may be going Mad Men, but Doug Pray's documentary Art & Copy presents a very different picture of the advertising industry. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: It doesn't matter how much garrulous delusion the subjects spout. [Director] Pray buys it wholesale and propagates the myth that there's something to respect about getting inside people's heads and rewiring them into mass-consumptive lemmings. Read more

Joanne Kaufman, Wall Street Journal: It all sounds rather grandiose, but it's hardly a surprising view from folks accustomed to thinking big. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Occasionally Art & Copy becomes an advertisement for advertising -- some of the talking heads are a little self-congratulatory -- but it offers plenty of food for thought. And makes it taste good, too. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Art & Copy is mightily diverting, for those who don't mind being sold a slick bill of goods. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: They are the giants of modern advertising, and they have some alluring tales to tell. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: An entertaining but also oddly naive documentary about American advertising. Read more

V.A. Musetto, New York Post: When all is said and done, Art & Copy is little more than an ad for advertising. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: Pray inserts facts that are eye-popping (the food industry spends $34 billion annually on ads) and alarming (every year, the average child sees 20,000 TV commercials). Read more

Peter Schilling, Minneapolis Star Tribune: 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. Read more

Brian Miller, Village Voice: Everyone quoted here, and perhaps Pray himself, wants to be seen as an artist. But in this economy, those of us who pay for ordinary stuff might not be so inclined to worship this particular art form. Read more