Pitch People
The true story of the world's second oldest profession.
Genres
Overview
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.
Details
Budget
$0
Revenue
$0
Runtime
87 min
Release Date
1999-10-22
Status
Released
Original Language
English
Vote Count
1
Vote Average
10
Arnold Morris
Self
Ed McMahon
Self
Jan Muller
Self
Joe Fowler
Self
Garrett Bess
Self
Jerry Crowley
Self
Billy Carroll
Self
Wally Nash
Self
Chester Nairne
Self
Sandy Mason
Self
Lester Morris
Self
Nancy Ann Nelson
Self
John Parkin
Self
Maddy Press
Self
Roland Prince
Self
Al Spino
Self
Michael Walsh
Self
John Worsley
Self
Jon Paul Zoffka
Self
Ted Williams
Self
Ralph Watkins
Self
Randy Walker
Self
Larry Scheidt
Self
John Ryan
Self
Andre Ridley
Self
Sandy Rick
Self
Nick Parrilla
Self
Sonny Nathans
Self
Ruby Morris
Self
Jerry Mascuzzio
Self
Ian Long
Self
Stuart Levy
Self
Bonnie Kmiec
Self
Ray Kennedy
Self
Connie Jorgenson
Self
Mark Hyman
Self
Tony Hodgen-Hall
Self
Bobby Foster
Self
Herman Flores
Self
George Cook
Self
Johnny Carson
Self
Roland Babin
Self
Jamie Barr
Self
6.5
The Codes of Gender
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.
2010-10-13 | en
0.0
No Measure of Health
No Measure of Health profiles Kyle Magee, an anti-advertising activist from Melbourne, Australia, who for the past 10 years has been going out into public spaces and covering over for-profit advertising in various ways. The film is a snapshot of his latest approach, which is to black-out advertising panels in protest of the way the media system, which is funded by advertising, is dominated by for-profit interests that have taken over public spaces and discourse. Kyle’s view is that real democracy requires a democratic media system, not one funded and controlled by the rich. As this film follows Kyle on a regular day of action, he reflects on fatherhood, democracy, what drives the protest, and his struggle with depression, as we learn that “it is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
| en
7.6
The Corporation
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.
2003-09-10 | en
0.0
The First Ever Commercial for Cats
On Wednesday 27th January 1999, Whiskas Singles made advertising history. The first-ever commercial for cats was shown on British TV. The results? Thousands of cats across the length and breadth of Britain jumping, staring and listening. (Apart from the ones who completely ignored it.) Even cat owners enjoyed the ad. It was splashed across the national press and TV and made the news as far away as Australia and the US. Now it's on video, along with an explanation of how the ad works and reactions from both cats and owners. Watch it with your cat and see what he or she thinks. (In our tests, 8 out of 10 preferred it.)
1999-05-12 | en
0.0
Behind the Screens, Hollywood Goes Hypercommercial
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.
2000-01-01 | en
7.2
Helvetica
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.
2007-09-12 | en
4.0
X-Rated: The Ads They Couldn't Show
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.
2005-03-10 | en
6.9
Art & Copy
The personal odysseys of some of the most influential advertising visionaries of all time and the stories behind their campaigns.
2009-08-21 | en
7.2
The Atomic Cafe
A disturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.
1982-03-17 | en
6.5
Generation Sputnik
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.
2016-12-01 | de
8.2
Greetings From Planet Smurf
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.
2018-06-08 | fr
6.2
Programming the Nation?
Programming the Nation? takes an encompassing look at the history of subliminal messaging in America. According to many authorities, since the late 1950s subliminal content has been tested and delivered through all forms of mass-media including Hollywood filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock and William Friedkin. Even our modern military has been accused of these practices in the "war on terror" against soldiers and civilians both abroad and at home. With eye-opening footage, revealing interviews, humorous anecdotes, and an array of visual effects, the film categorically explores the alleged usage of subliminals in advertising, music, film, television, anti-theft devices, political propaganda, military psychological operations, and advanced weapons development. Director Jeff Warrick makes it his personal mission to determine if these manipulative tactics have succeeded in "programming the nation?" Or, if subliminal messaging belongs in the category of what many consider urban legend.
2011-08-19 | en
5.0
Experiments in Advertising: The Films of Erwin Blumenfeld: Advertising & Layout
Part of a triptych of fashion films edited from Erwin Blumenfeld's original footage by filmmaker Adam Mufti and sound designer Olivier Alary. This film examines the concept of 'Adertising & Layout' in Blumenfeld's motion image work.
2006-09-25 | en
7.2
The Merchants of Cool
A documentary on the marketing of pop culture to Teenagers.
2001-02-27 | en
7.6
The Light Bulb Conspiracy
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.
2010-11-30 | fr
0.0
Adland
TVTV turns its critical eye to the world of advertising in Adland, subtitled Where Commercials Come From. Focusing on the reality behind the image, and specifically on the strategies of Madison Avenue, they interview prominent 1970s admen such as George Lois and Jerry Della Femina. They also go behind the scenes of commercial shoots, where such figures as Ronald McDonald and the precocious child actor Mason Reese are put through grinding routines, only to reveal themselves as jaded pros off-camera. In this clear-eyed look at the manipulation inherent in advertising, the TVTV crew meets its match in the relentless cynicism and masculine braggadocio of the seasoned admen; ultimately, TVTV conveys respect for the savvy and skills of these shrewd veterans.
1974-01-01 | en
0.0
The Real Saatchis: Masters of Illusion
Featuring interviews with Sir John Hegarty, Lord Tim Bell and Robert E. Jacoby, The Real Saatchis: Masters of Illusion chronicles the rise and fall of Britain's largest advertising agency,
1999-07-10 | en
0.0
Superette Story
A look at the sales practices employed at the LPE Superette run by John Beasley on Berwick Street market.
1962-10-02 | en
5.0
Juzo Itami: The Man with 13 Faces
A documentary about the legendary Japanese filmmaker.
2007-01-01 | ja
6.4
POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement that is financed and made possible by brands, advertising and product placement.
2011-04-22 | en