[Unclesamscandy]

In the show Mad Men, the ad man Don Draper is in the waiting room while his wife is giving birth. He is reading a magazine and as he is being called in to see the baby, he begins putting his magazine down and quickly rips out a full page with an ad by Art Fitzpatrick featuring a big Pontiac and hurries up and folds it and shoves it into his suitcoat pocket! I can imagine some big Madison Ave exec doing just that with those fantastic ads that Art painted during those Pontiac glory years. I am sure there were many envious advertising people who admired and copied what he created. Just something humorous that I caught the other night on Netflix that made me chuckle...

A nice article:
http://www.pontiacsonline.com/FITZ%20AND%20VAN.htm

[Keith Seymore]

Very cool.

I always thought those guys needed to be driving around in '63 Grand Prix's -

K

[Andre]

I remember that scene quite clearly. That is quite a good show, and that was a good bonus.

[moto-d]

As a current advertising copywriter myself, I have a special place in my heart for this industry in the Mad Men era anyway -- those were the years of the icons: Benton & Bowles, Doyle Dane Bernbach, McCann-Ericson, BBDO, Foote, Cone & Belding, Leo Burnett ... naturally, the Van & Fitz ads are among my favorites in the illustrated style.

[Unclesamscandy]

Originally Posted by moto-d

As a current advertising copywriter myself, I have a special place in my heart for this industry in the Mad Men era anyway -- those were the years of the icons: Benton & Bowles, Doyle Dane Bernbach, McCann-Ericson, BBDO, Foote, Cone & Belding, Leo Burnett ... naturally, the Van & Fitz ads are among my favorites in the illustrated style.

Those were glory days for a lot of things that were All American and larger than life. I recall reading 'On Advertising' when I was about 20 and studying economics and history and at the time had a major love affair with the early 60's. I think it had something to do with my father's generation (WW II/Greatest Gen) reaching the absolute prime of their lives around that time as they dove headfirst into middle age. There was nothing an American Man couldn't do - he conquered the world when he was 20, just finished siring the last of his brood, met his earning potential and had all that life had to offer in the greatest, freest land there was ever on planet Earth. And the year I was born-1965 coincided with that metaphysical peak of American exceptionalism, thence only to fall precipitously and calamitously as Vietnam, the counterculture and self-doubt began to creep into the collective psyche of America. Lets face it- Frank Sinatra turned 50 that year and threw away his hats, the hippies began to appear and suddenly there were cracks showing in the armor of all that we had taken for granted. It was as if there was a sudden mid-life crisis hitting the American consumer and nothing was really ever the same.

My wife and I enjoy the show and she was with me when we met Art at the GTO Nationals in 2008 at Saratoga Springs. She recalled him when I pointed out Don Draper covertly enjoying Art's work in that scene! And Van's scenes are super evocative of a romanticized time gone past that will never return again, if it ever existed at all. Ala' Norman Rockwell...I hardly remember the 60's other than my earliest memory of New Year's Eve of 1970 ( I was 4 and a half) but to me they will always be a great and idealized time in America, whether they were or not.

[Andre]

counterculture.... the acid that eroded the good ole USA.

I met Art and his wife at a few different shows and promised to come visit and see some of his originals, but I don't think it will happen.

[moto-d]

Yes, they were the glory days of what we think of today as the American experience. The world was ours, everyone wanted to come here ... hell, everyone wanted to be us, except maybe Kruschev and Ho Chi Minh -- and Kruschev was a fan of Chuck Connors and the Rifleman, so even he wasn't immune!!!

Of course it couldn't last for a hundred reasons, internally as well as externally. As for the emergence of the counterculture, it was always there. Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Ginsberg, Burrows, Kerouac, Neal Cassidy, Kesey ... the counter-voices were with us before and after World War II. It seems that by the 60s, more people started listening to them I guess. Besides, who couldn't like Janis Joplin?!?!? OK, off my soapbox!

[Ragtop Man]

Awesome, I'll have to look that one up!

I have two Fitz and Van original illustrations, which are unusual because one -- for the '61 cars -- does not have the usual background, just a water color wash. It's a 3-view of the '61's, still my favorite big Pontiac of them all.

The other is of the '66 Catalina (and you wonder where the 2+2 in the garage came from) given to me by Mickey McGuire, brother of the 'other' Mickey who worked closely with Boulevard Photographic for many years.

It's in the style of the streaking white '66 GTO on the blue background down the post. In fact, had I been slightly more on the ball back when, I could have had the original 2+2/GTO illustration, which hung in his office at the same time. He preferred mine, but I kept forgetting to trade...

Sadly, Mickey contracted cancer and after fighting the good fight, succumbed a year or so later.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Ragtop Man

Awesome, I'll have to look that one up!

I have two Fitz and Van original illustrations, which are unusual because one -- for the '61 cars -- does not have the usual background, just a water color wash. It's a 3-view of the '61's, still my favorite big Pontiac of them all.

The other is of the '66 Catalina (and you wonder where the 2+2 in the garage came from) given to me by Mickey McGuire, brother of the 'other' Mickey who worked closely with Boulevard Photographic for many years.

It's in the style of the streaking white '66 GTO on the blue background down the post. In fact, had I been slightly more on the ball back when, I could have had the original 2+2/GTO illustration, which hung in his office at the same time. He preferred mine, but I kept forgetting to trade...

Sadly, Mickey contracted cancer and after fighting the good fight, succumbed a year or so later.

Bob - I mentioned the GM Heritage Center during our conversations this weekend; they have had several original AF/VK pieces hanging up along the east wall during my last couple visits. Eric White and I enjoyed looking at them very closely - you can see quite distinctly where the cars were cut out and applied to the backgrounds....

K