When Selling America was a good thing

The ad job

There might be some people that can review an hour long documentary, pinpointing the main themes, characters and quotes with uncanny accuracy, but I am not one of them (I try, though). Just watched (with interruptions and generally while fucking around) The City That Sold America, a 2018 film about Chicago’s major role in establishing modern advertising during the 20th century. First takeaway, a poster for retro suckers (me included):

Second, location, location, location. The city’s place allowed for broadcasting everywhere in the States, underpinning the innovation of radio commercials. Additionally, till mid-century or thereabouts, traveling across the country via railroad involved a (mandatory I believe one of the interviewees said, see also this) stop at the Windy City, further adding to its buzz (later, transcontinental flights removed this “captured audience”).

When location advantage met with creative (and entrepreneurial) talent, an advertising hub formed, that grew in a relatively short-lived virtuous circle. The produced content in some cases went viral before that was even a thing, and the film presents a fine selection of ads that may ring a bell or two. I have to note that I learned, after all these years, that the “what’s up” scene from Scary Movie was an ad reference.

Cityscape!

Third, Lasker. I got the name in the documentary and sounded vaguely familiar. No, this was not about Mary Lasker, whose efforts to move mountains in terms of promoting medical research have been praised by Vishnu here. It was about her husband, Albert Lasker, an impressive man in own right. It turns out that he was instrumental in the development of the ad industry, “the man that sold America” in “the city that sold America”. Together with his wife, they undertook considerable philanthropic action, that Mary carried on after his death in 1952.

That’s it, and it was good (actually there was much more, but, you know, trying).