HAT contributes to international exhibition in Qatar

As the largest archive of British advertising in the world, HAT’s reach to academics, students and researchers is worldwide but to be asked to be part of an exhibition at the Northwestern University in Qatar was a great accolade and testimony to our international reknown.

The Northwestern University, founded in 2008, with a focus on media and communications claims that their “programs ranked as some of the best in the world prepare students to become leaders in the global media industry as executives, journalists, producers, directors, editors, and much more.” It is also home to the Media Majlis - the first museum in the Arab world dedicated to exploring journalism, communication and media. Through exhibitions, publications, events and online resources, they engage with themes that connect audiences to an ever-changing media landscape.

Their current exhibition Unraveling Persuasion – running now til 30th April 2022, “Explores the medium, the message and the mind – seeking to widen the lens through which we understand persuasive media and increase awareness of the theories that underpin them”

    

HAT’s Jane Jarvis was approached by the exhibition guest curator, Claire Dobbin in August 2020 to contribute, on behalf of HAT, talking about the mechanics of propaganda and the dynamics of social influence, as well as the art and business of advertising, consumer preferences and behaviours and her experience as an interviewer of some of the legends of advertising featured in HAT’s Inspiring Minds project.  A selection of HAT’s ‘Inspiring Minds’ interviews with Adland legends including Sir Alan Parker and Sir Frank Lowe feature in the exhibition.

Dealing with lockdown restrictions, the interview eventually took place in a studio in Islington in November 2020 and is available on the exhibition website alongside other contributions from a number of academics and historians.

Alistair Moir, HAT’s Deputy Director was also asked to provide content from HAT’s archives for the exhibition.

John Tylee – HAT Trustee, former associate Editor of Campaign, journalist and commentator on all things advertising was also contacted by guest curator Claire Dobbin. He explains:


John Tylee

“What brought her to me was a piece that I and fellow Campaign magazine journalist James Hamilton had written 13 years earlier. It was called “Ten ads that changed advertising”.

Claire was fascinated by our choice of ground-breakers. So much so that she asked if I could update the Top 10 that James and I compiled taking into account the changing nature of advertising and the ever-growing number of ways to deliver it.

This might seem like a relatively simple task. But, as anybody who has attempted to select their castaway music for Desert Island Discs has found, the hardest task isn’t what to pick but what to exclude.

To make it easier for ourselves – and to get the widest possible consensus –James and I asked senior advertising figures from the UK and beyond to help us compile a 30-strong list of contenders. In order to make our final 10, the ads had to have been a significant catalyst for change in advertising itself. Being brilliant wasn’t enough.

After much debate and heart-searching, these were our final choices:

  • Rosie the Riveter - US War Production Co-ordinating Committee (1943)
  • Gibbs – SR Gibbs (1955)
  • Think Small – Volkswagen Beetle (1962)
  • Iguana – Benson & Hedges (1978)
  • Labour Isn’t Working – Conservative Party (1979)
  • Manhattan – British Airways (1983)
  • 1984 – Apple (1984)
  • Launderette -Levi’s (1986)
  • BMW – Films.com BMW US (2001)
  • Hello Boys – Playtex Wonderbra (1994) 

Compare this with my Media Majlis selection in 2021:

  • Rosie the Riveter- US War Production Co-ordinating Committee (1943)
  • Gibbs – SR Gibbs (1955)
  • Think Small – Volkswagen Beetle (1962)
  • Iguana – Benson & Hedges (1978)
  • Labour Isn’t Working (1979)
  • 1984 – Apple (1984)
  • Launderette – Levi’s (1986)
  • Nike – Just Do It (1988)
  • Meet The Superhumans – Channel 4 (2012)
  • Red Bull Stratos (2012)

Leaving aside the fact that this is my personal selection (James went on to head audience planning at Channel 4) what does it say about what’s happened to advertising during the 13 years that separate the compiling of the two lists?

The fact that more than half those on the original list have survived to the second is testimony to the enduring power of the creativity that flourished during the industry’s golden age.

It may also reflect that game-changing advertising has become rarer as traditional mass media gives way to more targeted marketing across multiple channels. At the same time, there’s little doubt that the harsh economic climate and the fallout from a global pandemic have caused advertisers to be more risk-averse and less creatively bold.

Will all this adversity put a damper on creativity or spur it to greater innovation? If so a top 10 compiled in 13 years’ time may look very different, Let’s hope so.”

The Unraveling Persuasion exhibition is available online until 30th April 2022



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