It could be argued that advertising is a driving force of marketing. Art & Copy is a documentary directed by Doug Pray that explores a creative dimension of commercial messages and the people behind them. It focuses on the most successful ads while leaving aside boring, unappealing, and condescending production (Souza, 2016). The movie features the most creative minds in the advertising industry that have made their contributions to the most successful marketing campaigns over the last fifty years.
It tells the story of Doyle Dane Bernbach—a person behind the “Think Small” campaign for the Volkswagen Beetle that was launched in 1959 (Souza, 2016). The documentary also introduces Lee Clow—a creator of a Super Bowl ad that framed the idea that a personal computer can be something more than just a tool. A creator of the Nike slogan “Just Do It” Dan Wieden is also featured in the movie.
The Story of Content: Rise of the New Marketing is a 42-minute documentary produced by the Content Marketing Institute. Just like Art & Copy, it tells the story of marketing industry pioneers whose efforts have helped to shape the way advertisements are being presented to the public. The movie manages to provide its audience with a clear view of the life and work of Don Schultz, David Meerman Scott, Scott Stratten, and Kirk Cheyfitz among others (Content Marketing Institute, 2015). However, the biggest portion of The Story of Content: Rise of the New Marketing is dedicated to the story of Marcus Sheridan—a legend in the world of content marketing.
It could be argued that the two documentaries are extremely structurally similar in that they both familiarize their viewers with the most influential marketers of our time. However, unlike The Story of Content: Rise of the New Marketing, Art & Copy is interspersed with statistics that reflect the amount of advertising an average person is subjected to daily. Even though it focuses more on the creative dimension of the marketing than on the factual one, it manages not to supply its viewers with ad-exposure statistics. The Story of Content: Rise of the New Marketing, on the other hand, does not contain infographics or any numerical data. Therefore, it could be argued that even though the documentary makes the story of marketers extremely immersive and compelling, it is much less focused on the factual side of the marketing.
Even though both documentaries explore the subject of marketing, The Story of Content: Rise of the New Marketing emphasizes more on its collision with the new media of the twenty-first century and teaches how to reach wide audiences through content. Moreover, the documentary embodies the idea that content marketing is nothing more than a commitment to serve the interests of large groups of people. Furthermore, The Story of Content: Rise of the New Marketing teaches its audience that content marketing should be treated as a marathon, not a sprint (Content Marketing Institute, 2015).
It could be argued that both documentaries provided their viewers with relatively impartial cases of marketing history. However, The Story of Content: Rise of the New Marketing is more compelling than Art & Copy due to the clarity of explanation of the content marketing principles and methods. Even though it is much less focused on the factual side of the issue, it presents the most current and up-to-date information from the most influential figures in the industry. Therefore, it is the most suitable learning material for students interested in marketing.
References
Content Marketing Institute. (2015). Documentary-The Story of Content: Rise of the New Marketing. Web.
Souza, W. (2016). Art & Copy. Web.