The art of the "pitch" and its role in society, as told by many of the pitch industry's greatest salesmen, including Arnold Morris, Sandy Mason, Lester Morris, Wally Nash and Ed McMahon as well as a look at the Popeil family.
Casts Arnold Morris, Ed McMahon, Jan Muller, Joe Fowler, Garrett Bess, Jerry Crowley, Billy Carroll, Wally Nash, Chester Nairne, Sandy Mason
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
The Codes of Gender
The Corporation
Generation Sputnik
Art & Copy
La face cachée de l'homme en noir
Ardisson, l'Homme en Noir : l'hommage
Helvetica
X-Rated: The Ads They Couldn't Show
Citizen Shane
Behind the Screens, Hollywood Goes Hypercommercial
Paseo por los letreros de Madrid
The Merchants of Cool
The Secret of Selling the Negro
The Man Who Drew Bug-Eyed Monsters
Door to Door Salesman
Superette Story
Juzo Itami: The Man with 13 Faces
Greetings From Planet Smurf
POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
The Light Bulb Conspiracy
SIMILAR MOVIES
The Codes of Gender
IMDB 6.5 | Oct , 2010
Arguing that advertising not only sells things, but also ideas about the world, media scholar Sut Jhally offers a blistering analysis of commercial culture's inability to let go of reactionary gender representations. Jhally's starting point is the breakthrough work of the late sociologist Erving Goffman, whose 1959 book The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life prefigured the growing field of performance studies. Jhally applies Goffman's analysis of the body in print advertising to hundreds of print ads today, uncovering an astonishing pattern of regressive and destructive gender codes. By looking beyond advertising as a medium that simply sells products, and beyond analyses of gender that tend to focus on either biology or objectification, The Codes of Gender offers important insights into the social construction of masculinity and femininity, the relationship between gender and power, and the everyday performance of cultural norms.The Corporation
IMDB 7.6 | Sep , 2003
Since the late 18th century American legal decision that the business corporation organizational model is legally a person, it has become a dominant economic, political and social force around the globe. This film takes an in-depth psychological examination of the organization model through various case studies. What the study illustrates is that in the its behaviour, this type of "person" typically acts like a dangerously destructive psychopath without conscience. Furthermore, we see the profound threat this psychopath has for our world and our future, but also how the people with courage, intelligence and determination can do to stop it.Generation Sputnik
IMDB 6.5 | Dec , 2016
From 1957 —the year in which the Soviets put the Sputnik 1 satellite into orbit— to 1969 —when American astronaut Neil Armstrong walked on the surface of the moon—, the beginnings of the space conquest were depicted in popular culture: cinema, television, comics and literature of the time contain numerous references to an imagined future.Art & Copy
IMDB 7 | Aug , 2009
The personal odysseys of some of the most influential advertising visionaries of all time and the stories behind their campaigns.La face cachée de l'homme en noir
IMDB 6.8 | Jul , 2025
You've seen him interview Mikhail Gorbachev, Angelina Jolie, Robbie Williams, Mariah Carey, Brad Pitt, Jane Fonda, Robert De Niro... You know him, but you don't really know him. Everyone has talked about Ardisson without ever getting close to the truth about him. My ambition: to reveal the man behind the costume of "The Man in Black." I thought to myself: if anyone can figure him out, it's me, a journalist and portraitist who has lived with him for 15 years. Who is the private Thierry behind the spectacular Ardisson? What we discover is how much Ardisson's personal history reflects the eras he has lived through, their contradictions, their utopias, their excesses, their violence. Like so many facets of a man and of society at the turn of the century.Ardisson, l'Homme en Noir : l'hommage
IMDB 0 | Jul , 2025
This tribute program takes you back into the world of Thierry Ardisson, a particularly creative, provocative, and erudite host and producer. From "Tout le monde en parle" to "Salut les Terriens !", via "Lunettes noires pour nuits blanches", the program retraces his more than 40-year career and his extraordinary journey, featuring cult interviews, testimonials, and archive footage. Numerous guests will pay tribute to him and share their memories and anecdotes on set. Thierry Ardisson, "the man in black," shook up the French audiovisual landscape and left his mark on his era. The program is broadcast on all TV5 Monde channels and on TV5 Québec/Canada.Helvetica
IMDB 7.2 | Sep , 2007
Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.X-Rated: The Ads They Couldn't Show
IMDB 4 | Mar , 2005
Every year, thousands of commercials are made that never reach our TV screens, deemed too shocking to see. In order to make it onto the screen, they must clear all manner of obstacles, from fussy clients to obsessive regulators and restrictive rights issues. X-Rated takes a look at these outlawed pieces of advertising, revealing the most explicit, controversial and shocking ads never seen. These are ads that break all manner of taboos, from sex, violence, blasphemy, homosexuality, animal cruelty, rapping pensioners, swearing children, suicidal toys and naked athletes to Kylie in her undies on a bucking bronco. Amongst the contributors are advertising executives, producers and censors. The programme also takes a look at the embarrassing world of western celebrities in Japanese ads.Citizen Shane
IMDB 8 | Feb , 2004
A porn-loving, Charles Manson-befriending, Mississippi Republican runs to become the next sheriff.Behind the Screens, Hollywood Goes Hypercommercial
IMDB 0 | Jan , 2000
Hollywood movies are rapidly becoming vehicles for the ulterior marketing and advertising motives of studios and their owners, rather than entertainment in their own right. Behind the Screens explores this trend toward "hypercommercialism" through phenomena such as product placement, tie-ins, merchandising and cross-promotions. It combines multiple examples taken directly from the movies with incisive interviews provided by film scholars, cultural critics, political economists, and an Oscar-nominated screenwriter. Behind the Screens presents an accessible argument designed for school and college-age audiences-- precisely the demographic most prized by both Hollywood studios and advertisers alike. It features examples drawn from movies such as Wayne's World, Forrest Gump, The Lion King, Summer of Sam, and Toy Story.Paseo por los letreros de Madrid
IMDB 0 | Jan , 1968
A travelogue through the diverse neighborhoods of Madrid, its picturesque streets and its history; and an approach, with a sense of humor, to the lighted signs and advertising slogans of the shops: an unusual portrait of the city and its people.The Merchants of Cool
IMDB 7.2 | Feb , 2001
A documentary on the marketing of pop culture to Teenagers.The Secret of Selling the Negro
IMDB 6 | Jul , 1954
Film commissioned by the Chicago-based publisher of Negro Digest, Ebony, Tan, and Jet to encourage advertisers to reach out to African American consumers. The Secret of Selling the Negro depicts the lives, activities, and consumer behavior of African American professionals, students, and housewives. A Business Screen reviewer noted that the film focused on the “bright positive” aspects of the “new Negro family.” The sponsor issued a companion booklet offering the “do’s and don’ts of selling to the Negro.”The Man Who Drew Bug-Eyed Monsters
IMDB 7.5 | Apr , 1994
This documentary celebrates the work of illustrator Reynold Brown, whose colorful and compelling art graced over 300 movie posters during the 1950s and '60s, ranging from star-studded westerns and studio epics to sensational creature features and low-budget B-movies. Art historians, writers, and movie producers discuss Brown's art within the context of the post-war social climate and an ever-changing movie industry.Door to Door Salesman
IMDB 0 | May , 1961
Ever had a good experience with doorstep salespeople? Maybe you were lucky, but the doorstep has never seemed the best place for a sensible sales decision – which is exactly why companies use it.Superette Story
IMDB 0 | Oct , 1962
A look at the sales practices employed at the LPE Superette run by John Beasley on Berwick Street market.Juzo Itami: The Man with 13 Faces
IMDB 5 | Jan , 2007
A documentary about the legendary Japanese filmmaker.Greetings From Planet Smurf
IMDB 8.2 | Jun , 2018
The Smurfs were created in 1958 by the Belgian comic author Peyo (Pierre Culliford, 1928-1992) and they are one of Belgium's most recognized exports. From Brussels to Los Angeles, via Dubai, a journey into the tiny world of the famous little blue people, from the story of the creation of the original comic to the account of their huge global commercial exploitation.POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
IMDB 6.4 | Apr , 2011
A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement that is financed and made possible by brands, advertising and product placement.The Light Bulb Conspiracy
IMDB 7.6 | Nov , 2010
Once upon a time... consumer goods were built to last. Then, in the 1920’s, a group of businessmen realized that the longer their product lasted, the less money they made, thus Planned Obsolescence was born, and manufacturers have been engineering products to fail ever since. Combining investigative research and rare archive footage with analysis by those working on ways to save both the economy and the environment, this documentary charts the creation of ‘engineering to fail’, its rise to prominence and its recent fall from grace.