In this week’s “Then, Now and Looking Ahead” feature, part of a series marking SHOOT’s upcoming 50th year anniversary in which industry notables reflect on how the business has evolved, Rich Silverstein, co-chairman/creative director of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, expresses dismay over reality TV shows and other forms of mind-numbing content which seem pervasive, ironically during a time when exciting delivery systems for varied forms of content have come of age.
“We have all these incredible delivery devices but it’s amazing how many of them deliver bad television,” he said. “I don’t care if I can get live TV on my phone or on an airplane if the content is bad.”
Silverstein went on to observe, “You can’t help but think that we are dummying down America.” This in turn led him to bemoan the recent Supreme Court decision overturning campaign finance laws, contending it will open the floodgates for more political advertising and more dummying down clutter. “I know it means more money for the advertising industry but that’s not the way we should elect people or deal with issues.”
I agree with Silverstein regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling.. But in our corner of the world, I thought it interesting to explore that ruling’s impact on advertising.
In a world that too often seems to judge a situation’s merits by “How much? instead of “How,” the ad biz comes out a winner. There are conservative estimates that another $300 million will be generated for the political advertising pie, which is already several billion dollars. Indeed with this being a congressional election year, there figures to be a lot of additional special interest dollars that will be pumped into the marketplace.
Yet there’s a price to pay for increased revenue–continued erosion of our industry’s credibility. To say we live in polarized times is an understatement, and negative political advertising figures to fuel the fire. According to factcheck.org, a site run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, this negative brand of political advertising is largely an exercise in fabrication and distortion–on both sides of the political aisle. Unfortunately, twisting facts and character assassination have proven effective enough so that they remain staples of campaigning. And advertising’s role in misleading the public represents a figurative black eye for our industry. It undermines the many competitions we have that show the creativity and care that goes into great commercialmaking, which at its best is undeniably an art form and can have a positive effect and influence on audiences, stirring thought and emotion while stimulating prospective consumers and commerce.
At the very least the public knows who’s behind mainstream advertising and can judge those brands accordingly. In the case of much political and issues-oriented ad fare, backers continue to hide behind organizations with names that sound fair but in reality are misleading “brand” monikers, camouflaging hidden agendas.
Will Rogers’ words sadly take on even greater meaning in light of our high court’s green lighting of influence peddling: “We have the best Congress money can buy.”
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More