Sign is a Fine Investment, A

Synopsis

From the 1890s until the 1920s and 30s, early advertising frequently used images of industrial work to sell its products, showing in detail the actual manufacture of goods advertised. Modern advertising, on the other hand, surrounds us with images of idealised homes and families, shopping and holidays, offering a world of consumerism in which work has become completely invisible. Described by its director as "A Marxist analysis of advertising in film form", A SIGN IS A FINE INVESTMENT investigates the way work has disappeared from advertising images, and traces this phenomenon through archive advertising films from 1897 to 1960.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Year of production

1983

Subjects

Social Studies; Media studies

Keywords

advertising; labour (employment); Marxism; consumerism; archival film

Credits

Director

Judith Williamson

Cinematographer

Clive Tickner

Cast

Fiona Trier
Maryanne Gordon
Sarah Scodbo
Terry Hardy

Distribution Formats

Type

DVD

Price

£50.00

Availability

Sale

Duration/Size

50 minutes

Year

2012

Production Company

Name

Arts Council of Great Britain

Phone

020 7973 6455

Fax

020 7973 6581

Address

London
SW1P 3NG

Distributor

Name

Concord Media

Email

sales@concordmedia.org.uk

Web

http://www.concordmedia.org.uk/ External site opens in new window

Phone

01473 726 012

Address

Rosehill Centre
22 Hines Road
Ipswich
IP3 9BG

Notes

A long-established, not-for-profit organisation with a large collection DVDs, specialising in the sectors of general and mental health, child care, race relations, war and peace, addictions, the third world, ecology, civil rights, personal relationships, educational issues, and social work training. Concord also handles titles made for the Graves Medical Audio-visual Library. Sale on DVD. Formerly known as Concord Video and Film Council. In 2014 Concord began to offer selected films as Video on Demand, via Vimeo.