Photography: A Look at Advertising as Art

I was in Boston recently to take our son to look at colleges. While there, a friend of mine invited me to take a look at a photo exhibit on display at the Harvard Business School’s Baker Library/Bloomberg Center. This unique and surprisingly compelling exhibition, titled The High Art of Photographic Advertising: The 1934 National Alliance of Art and Industry Exhibition, is on display at Harvard through Oct. 9. I recommend checking it out if you find yourself in Cambridge MA with some extra time on your hands. Or, if you are reading this post after October 2010, click on the link below to read more and view some fabulous vintage ad images...

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Photography: Getty White Paper Analyzes Imagery in Consumer Pharma Ads

Check out the Getty Images White Paper titled "Use Only As Directed: Visual Analysis of Pharmaceutical Marketing for Connecting in a New Medical Landscape." It's a well-written and beautifully designed white paper that presents the marketing logic of today's pharmaceutical advertising and the importance imagery plays in drug ads. This is information that is relevant to anyone who is involved in marketing any type of heathcare solution to a consumer audience

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Marketing: Bank of America CMO Offers Tips for Financial Marketers

Over the weekend, I read an interesting Beth Snyder Bulik article in a back issue of Advertising Age magazine (3/22/10). The article features an interview with Anne Finucane, Global Strategy & Marketing Officer at Bank of America. In the interview, Finucane addresses some of the marketing challenges Bank of America faces as it emerges from the financial meltdown and recession. (This is an especially challenging time for the institution, given that the fact that it is a much larger, more diverse company than it was before the downturn.)

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Photography: Cool-o-rama! Kodak Coloramas!

Nostalgia is what’s fueling my enthusiasm for the new Kodak Colorama exhibit at the George Eastman House (June 19–October 17). From 1950 to 1990, Kodak Coloramas consistently and creatively promoted Kodak cameras, film and the concept of “everyday” photography to the travelers passing through New York City’s Grand Central Station. It was a giant of an ad campaign – literally and figuratively.

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