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A Smithsonian
show fuels the
debate By Wendy Melillo
Inside America's largest museum complex, the untutored eye might assume the image of a woman adorned in a bright yellow dress, one white-gloved hand gripping a parasol, is something by an Impressionist. And after a cursory glance, the poem of love and longing printed beneath her could be confused with a Robert Browning work.
Not until one notices the words "Ivory soap" at the end of the poem does the work reveal itself-as a Procter & Gamble print ad.
"Summer Breezes," P&G's first color advertisement, made its debut in Cosmopolitan magazine in 1896. It's one of 5,000 print, TV and radio ads dating back to 1882 that P&G has given to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, marking the first time the Cincinnati- based company has donated one of its advertising collections.
The gift joins other advertising already housed at the Smithsonian, for such brands as Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Hills Brothers coffee and Simmons mattresses. Earlier this year, Coca-Cola donated 50 years of its TV ads to the Library of Congress.
Ads belong in a museum or library, some say, because they are a form of art that is part of America's history. Critics call the practice nothing more than a shameless exploitation of America's institutions of higher culture. Still others argue that while there is a place for advertising in cultural centers-largely for research purposesit can never be considered on the same level as Monet's "Woman With a Parasol."
"I don't consider advertising art," says Mary Warlick, an art historian and executive director of The One Club, the New York trade organization that recognizes creative excellence in advertising. "Art is a visual imagery that is meant to elevate thinking in an aesthetic context. What advertising does is give a visual record of our cultural ambiance and history, our tastes, our trends, our wants, our needs, our buying. It is never meant to elevate us to that higher plane."
The Museum of American History's chief archivist, John Fleckner, is careful to avoid discussing his opinion on advertising as art. Instead, he sticks to some facts: The well-known photographer Edward Steichen was hired in 1933 by Compton, a Saatchi & Saatchi predecessor, to do...