

55 years ago, on October 1 1968, the first brand advertising spot appeared on the French television screen. Over the next three decades, thousands of creative little films would seduce and build our collective memory. Kitschy or cult spots, humor, slogans, music, stars, gimmicks, grand spectacle or sex appeal: during its golden age, how did advertising convince? Thierry Ardisson has brought together almost 400 advertising clips to relive the era of the conquest of minds and wallets.



Self (archive footage)

55 years ago, on October 1 1968, the first brand advertising spot appeared on the French television screen. Over the next three decades, thousands of creative little films would seduce and build our collective memory. Kitschy or cult spots, humor, slogans, music, stars, gimmicks, grand spectacle or sex appeal: during its golden age, how did advertising convince? Thierry Ardisson has brought together almost 400 advertising clips to relive the era of the conquest of minds and wallets.
2023-06-02
6.5
6.0In the summer of 1963, François Mitterrand was going through a deep existential crisis. His political career was at a standstill and, after 19 years of marriage, the couple had grown apart. It was at this point that François Mitterrand met the woman who was to give new meaning to his life. Anne Pingeot, aged 19, was to become the companion of a lifetime, a woman who would be with him throughout his rise to power and who would remain by his side until his last breath. For the first time, Anne Pingeot has agreed to allow the fragments of this passionate love story — hundreds of letters and a diary — to be shown on television, before being donated to the National Library.
7.4Has been an year since Pietro Zinni's gang got caught in the Sopox production laboratory and each of them locked up in different jails. From Regina Coeli jail, Pietro keep warning the authorities a fool syntetized nerve gas and he is ready to make a killing, but no one takes him seriously.
5.9Gary Hart, former Senator of Colorado, becomes the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1987. Hart's intelligence, charisma and idealism makes him popular with young voters, leaving him with a seemingly clear path to the White House. All that comes crashing down when allegations of an extramarital affair surface in the media, forcing the candidate to address a scandal that threatens to derail his campaign and personal life.
5.7When Alex, an infiltration expert with a secret past, accidentally reveals her identity during what should have been a routine heist, she quickly finds herself mixed up in a government conspiracy and entangled in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with a master assassin and his team of killers. Armed with her own set of lethal skills, Alex looks to exact revenge for her murdered friends while uncovering the truth.
6.1A slacker switches up his cleaning job by pretending to be a mental coach's assistant and consults an injured ice skater who has lost her confidence.
7.4Pietro Zinni is asked by the police to revive the old gang to create a task force that will stop the spread of smart drugs.
5.6Asim Noyan swindles people with his lies and games. Asim Noyan and his gang, who no one else has been able to catch, get into a ruse again.
8.6In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.
5.9Sara Shaw is the type of woman who prefers to sit on the sidelines at work, but when her big idea for a Christmas initiative is stolen, she makes a wish to Santa that she'll finally have the courage to stand up for herself. Santa grants her wish, but only gives her 48 hours. As the clock ticks, Sara will discover how to channel the Christmas magic and speak her mind all on her own.
6.1Neil, Will and Simon receive an invite from Jay to join him in Australia whilst on his gap year, who promises them it’s ”the sex capital of the world”. With their lives now rather dull compared to their hedonistic school days and legendary lads holiday, it’s an offer they can’t refuse. Once again, they put growing up temporarily on-hold, and embark on a backpacking holiday of a lifetime in an awful car, inspired by Peter Andre’s ‘Mysterious Girl’. Will soon finds himself battling with the lads to do something cultural, whilst they focus their attention on drinking, girls, and annoying fellow travelers.
6.2An outcast teenager, Pauline, practices surgical skills and harbors increasingly violent psychosexual fantasies.
6.3A father and son go on the run after the dad learns his child possesses special powers.
6.6A sweeping drama set in the chaotic aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq, where the life of top UN diplomat Brazilian Sérgio Vieira de Mello hangs in the balance during the most treacherous mission of his career.
7.1While on a last-minute European holiday, a young woman finds herself in the middle of a real-life fairy tale when a chance meeting with a handsome local leads to something more. However, things get complicated when she learns that the "local" is actually a prince who is about to be crowned King, and whose mother is dead-set against her royal son's romance with the tourist.
6.1In answer to an orphan boy's prayers, the divine Lord Krishna comes to Earth, befriends the boy, and helps him find a loving family.
5.6Newly appointed CEO of Robinson Tech, Wes Robinson, is looking for new ideas to boost the company's sales. Vivian Blair, a program developer, shares a dating algorithm she has been working on called My Perfect Match. Wes sees potential and an opportunity to turn the company around and launches the service. When the pair is challenged to use My Perfect Match themselves to find love, this algorithm shows some interesting results.
7.7A stage director and an actress struggle through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal extremes.
6.4A fresh and distinctive take on Charles Dickens’ semi-autobiographical masterpiece, The Personal History of David Copperfield, set in the 1840s, chronicles the life of its iconic title character as he navigates a chaotic world to find his elusive place within it. From his unhappy childhood to the discovery of his gift as a storyteller and writer, David’s journey is by turns hilarious and tragic, but always full of life, colour and humanity.
7.1An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.
7.0A short audiovisual portrait of Giulio Nick Piacentini, a young sound engineer with a hobby for nature photography. Realized for the Filmmaking Laboratory at DAMS RomaTre with Antonietta De Lillo.
0.0A humorous documentary about the search for a great composer who managed to overcome his depression by spelling his own name wrong.
7.5Follows the story of "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in his attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.
6.9The Queen is an intimate behind the scenes glimpse at the interaction between HM Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair during their struggle, following the death of Diana, to reach a compromise between what was a private tragedy for the Royal family and the public's demand for an overt display of mourning.
7.0This award-winning, thrilling story is about a group of discarded kids who revolutionized skateboarding and shaped the attitude and culture of modern day extreme sports. Featuring old skool skating footage, exclusive interviews and a blistering rock soundtrack, DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS captures the rise of the Zephyr skateboarding team from Venice's Dogtown, a tough "locals only" beach with a legacy of outlaw surfing.
10.0Somber tells the story of three depressed young people, all three in a different phase of the disease. What does depression do to a person? What does it actually mean? And above all, is there a way out?
0.0January 13th, 2024; Suffolk County's punk, grunge, and emo scenes are showcased through the more than a hundred attendees at Caveversary; an annual celebration of the independent basement venue, The Cave.
7.0The story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit's attempt to cross the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
7.2A documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians: the Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White.
6.3Filmmaker Roman Polanski spends a weekend with world champion driver Jackie Stewart as he attempts to win the 1971 Monaco Grand Prix, offering an extraordinarily rare glimpse into the life of a gifted athlete at the height of his powers. "Re-cut and restored" version of the original "Weekend Of A Champion (1972)", with a 2011 post-film discussion between Jackie Stewart and Roman Polanski (begins at approx 71:15 minutes).
7.2Newly elected President Nelson Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby union team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.
6.8The career of French comic author René Goscinny was a living blend of cultures and an expression of the great importance this artist attached to the production and dissemination of sophisticated popular culture. Goscinny left behind an extremely extensive body of work: "Asterix", "Lucky Luke", "Isnogud", "Little Nick" and many more.
0.0A couple of artists travels through the Mexico desert to present their puppet show.
0.0Life After opens the dialogue surrounding grief and how we experience it. Through conversations with Nicola Winstanley and Carmen Galavan about what grief is and how it affects us, we learn what it really means to live a life after.
7.1The 1978 kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro, president of the most important political party in Italy at the time, Democrazia Cristiana, as seen from the perspective of one of his assailants -- a conflicted young woman in the ranks of the Red Brigade.