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Jeff Goodby Lecture – 10/28/2009 Art Center College of Design (LA Times Auditorium)

My “History of Creative Advertising” course was treated to what I can only describe as an EPIC guest lecture today. Jeff Goodby, of Goodby Silverstein & Partners, [see also: wiki] was on hand to inspire us, share some of his work, and field our questions.

Jeff Goodby

This man is definitely at the forefront of the next wave of advertising’s ongoing (new?) creative revolution, and he was able to poignantly present some major ideas concerning the direction of advertising into lucid, concise points. Though he cited David Ogilvy as an influence (he even worked at O&M, and met Ogilvy!), I found him devoid of the old giant’s pretense, and more interested in thinking ahead… No resting on laurels, or in a French Chateau! When asked if there is anyone he admires most in advertising he mentioned that, increasingly, he finds that the work his younger staff are producing is the most captivating– no small feat when you consider this man’s reel includes the “Got Milk?” campaign, spots for Budweiser, Hyundai, and Doritos.

His vision of where advertising is headed is also unique. Whereas the temptation to put traditional media and advertising aside in favor of going purely digital is great amongst many in the industry, he stressed the importance of blurring a line of distinction; the art directors and advertising creatives of the future must be nimble, adaptive, and comfortable throughout digital and traditional media. Though admittedly he scored points with me by ceding that Photoshop is a lingua franca of the creative world, it is good to know that there is a viable future for other realms of creation.

During the Q+A session, I took the opportunity to ask how he felt about the “remix culture,” and how, if at all, he has needed to adapt to the aesthetic that has come about due in large part to the unparalleled accessibility of the means of image production. As more and more content is being generated by the “end user” target of traditional advertising, what changes have been made from the standpoint of a professional content creator. He answered that yes, at times there was a push to create in a style that mimicked the lo-fi producton of things like you-tube shorts or other remixes such as photomanipulations and mashup songs, but that more and more he’s become jaded with the looseness, and doesn’t really see this remix culture as a threat to professional, well produced media- good news for students like us at art center who are studying to be professional creators.

This being said, I did get the impression that Goodby feels that access to things like iMovie and basic photo editing software is a positive, as he cited a campaign he did for Doritos that had viewers create commercials that vied for a spot during the super bowl.

In addition to all of his professional advice, and showing highlights from his most recent reels, he gave us a compelling insight into his personal life by sharing with us a project he has undertaken with his home. “Poem House” is a personal project Jeff has undertaken to explore the boundaries between books, homes, and perceptions. The site includes documentation of the project, and is quite frankly, a must visit. Leave him a comment too!

All in all, this was a fantastic experience. It is amazing what sort of minds Art Center attracts, and I’m simply humbled and awed to be a part of it.