

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.
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.
5.2A strippers' convention and a major contest. The movie focuses on a few strippers, each with her own strong motive to win.
0.0Crossfire is the investigative documentary by an international team of journalists about two reporters, Andrea Rocchelli and Andrej Mironov, killed in eastern Ukraine, and the Ukrainian soldier Vitaly Markiv accused of their murder
5.8Produced by the Army Pictorial Service, Signal Corps, with the cooperation of the Army Air Forces and the United States Navy, and released by Warner Bros. for the War Activities Committee shortly after the surrender of Japan. Follow General Douglas MacArthur and his men from their exile from the Philippines in early 1942, through the signing of the instrument of surrender on the USS Missouri on September 1, 1945. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.
8.0A dying man in his forties recalls his childhood, his mother, the war and personal moments that tell of and juxtapose pivotal moments in Soviet history with daily life.
0.0Neculai, Aurel and Raj all left their homes in Romania for the same reason - to seek a better life for their family. Now, in Britain, with their loved ones depending on them, they survive by creating sand sculptures on London’s streets.
0.0A short documentary and character study about a woman's complex relationship with religion and family.
7.4Paris, Rue Beautreillis, July 3, 1971. The corpse of rock star Jim Morrison is found in a bathtub, in the apartment of his girlfriend Pamela Courson. The chronicle of the last months of the life of the poet, singer and charismatic leader of the American band The Doors, one of the most influential in the history of rock.
5.3A journey through the artistic life of the British-American rock band The Pretenders, formed in 1978, and a portrait of its leader, the charismatic singer and songwriter Chrissie Hynde.
0.0The story of the South Shore Resource and Advocacy Center, five survivors of domestic violence, and their experience in the Massachusetts justice system.
A feature length cinema documentary on how THE FARMER (1977) became the most-requested cult film of the new millennium, and it's a crazy tale that involves an actor incarcerated for manslaughter, serious on-set injuries, banana-man costumes- as well as surprising links to Clint Eastwood and Martin Scorsese. The film also broadens its scope to explore the overlooked, eclectic and often ultra-violent sub-genre THE FARMER belongs to - The Returning Veteran film. A film type that hit its stride in the 1970's with hard hitting character studies such as WELCOME HOME, SOLDIERS BOYS (1971), THE NO MERCY MAN (1973) and ROLLING THUNDER (1977).
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.
8.5Rare documents and details of the film's story. From its initial option to its critical reception and legacy. Director David Weisman, who also produced "Kiss of the Spider Woman", comes off as rightful creative force behind the production, as it was his true passion. Very detailed comments from all the participants, from the author of the book to the lawyer for the production company, the actors, director, writers, producer, and crew members.
0.0Directed by journalist Ricardo Alexandre, the documentary tells the story of the Napalm nightclub, responsible for the new wave and post-punk generation in Sao Paulo. Mixing live shows, cutting-edge DJing and videos in its "modern" internal television system, the venue quickly became a meeting point for young people who shaped the grayer side of Brazilian rock in the 80s.
7.4Centers on the unlikely relationship between Ann Atwater, an outspoken civil rights activist, and C.P. Ellis, a local Ku Klux Klan leader who reluctantly co-chaired a community summit, battling over the desegregation of schools in Durham, North Carolina during the racially-charged summer of 1971. The incredible events that unfolded would change Durham and the lives of Atwater and Ellis forever.
8.0Iran, January 16th, 1979. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi flees after being overthrown. Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Tehran and proclaims the Islamic Republic on April 1st, 1979. In the same year, Saddam Hussein seizes power in Iraq and, after several border skirmishes, attacks Iran on September 22nd, 1980, initiating a cruel war that will last eight years. Since its outbreak, correspondent Saeid Sadeghi documented it from its beginning to its bitter end.
8.5A look at the unrecognized work of the talented artists and craftsmen who've maintained the tradition of Japanese special-effects. Highlighted is Yasuyuki Inoue along with various crew members who crafted meticulously detailed miniatures and risked life and limb as suit actors. All done to bring to life some of film's most iconic monsters through a distinct Japanese artform.