More than meets the Eye: Advertising Process and the Barry Banks Blakeney Archive

The popularity of television programs such as Mad Men, and more locally, the Gruen Transfer revealed the public’s fascination with the inner workings of the advertising industry. While such programs have helped demystify some of the industry’s tricks and practices, their focus on the more dramatic aspects of the advertising profession, such as the inspirational genius behind a campaign or the winning of a new account, tends to reinforce the image of advertising as a glamorous business. The reality, however, is somewhat more ordinary. This paper seeks to redress this imbalance by providing an insight into the everyday practices of a small Melbourne-based advertising agency, Barry Banks Blakeney, which operated in the second half of the twentieth century.