Arts & Entertainment, Business, Science & Tech

Meet Your Instructors: Jeff Goodby & Rich Silverstein

Jeff Goodby & Rich Silverstein

Lesson time 06:18 min

Meet Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein, founders of the legendary advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners. Jeff and Rich introduce themselves and set the stage for their class.

Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars

Topics include: Jeff Goodby & Rich Silverstein Teach Advertising and Creativity • What is Advertising?

Preview

[MUSIC PLAYING] [SHIP HORN SOUNDING] [STREET CAR BELL RINGING] - Goodby Silverstein co-chairs and creative directors, Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein, the team behind iconic ads like Got Milk and the Budweiser lizard. - Budweiser lizards. We could've been huge. MAN 1: They were the funniest ads on TV. - SEGA! INTERVIEWER: Your agency's been involved in a lot of big Super Bowl commercials. JEFF GOODBY: When advertising, you tried to riff off popular culture, and then sometimes you create popular culture. INTERVIEWER: I loved the Got Milk. So where'd that come from? RICH SILVERSTEIN: Well, Jeff Goodby, my partner, wrote it, and I said that's the stupidest line I've ever heard. - Rich and Jeff are really different. - And they are extremes. And when you put them in a room together, you really leave no stone unturned. MAN 2: These guys changed the game. MAN 3: Goodby and Silverstein once again Agency of the Year. - The Lions of St. Mark, Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein. WOMAN 1: The stakes are really high. WOMAN 2: They always think it can be funnier. Always. RICH SILVERSTEIN: We're so hard on ourselves, it's crazy. I know I could improve this too. I'm trying. I'm going to rewrite it. JEFF GOODBY: Richard is like my night vision goggles. He sees things that I don't see. What am I doing? You know, the usual. So welcome to our MasterClass. This is chapter one. It's called, "What Is Advertising," we're told. Is that a good title? - I don't know. I don't know what-- that's a little-- - We'll have to answer it. RICH SILVERSTEIN: I guess we have to-- - Wait, that's why it might not be a good title. - What is advertising? You know, it's funny, I never even asked that question to myself. - It's true. But maybe they-- - But here we are. - --would like it. - And by the end of the day, you'll have the answer. - And I promise you, or your money back, we'll make sense out of it. - No, we won't. - MasterClass going-- [MIMICKING YELLING] Can't give the money back. [MUSIC PLAYING] I don't come from a point of view that it's even advertising. I come into, I want to tell you a story, and it will be represented by the brand. And we understand it's commerce. It's art serving capitalism. Jeff and I came up with this theme that no one in this whole office understands. - They don't like it. RICH SILVERSTEIN: No. But art serving capitalism. We want to be artists in a business world. JEFF GOODBY: Well, there's a guy named Howard Gossage who's kind of an idol of ours. San Francisco advertising guy. And if you don't know who he is, you should look him up. He's-- he was a very soulful guy. And he once said, people read what interests them. Sometimes it's advertising. And so we try to make things that are not advertising. You know, from the very beginning of our company, we'...

About the Instructor

As the minds behind the “got milk?” campaign, the Budweiser lizards, and countless other ads that have permeated pop culture, Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein never stop reimagining the possibilities of advertising. Now they’re sharing how they make the beautiful and edgy work that’s seen by millions. Learn how to come up with great ideas, tell funny and compelling stories, and dazzle at your next pitch or presentation.

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Jeff Goodby & Rich Silverstein

Advertising icons Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein teach you how to break rules, change minds, and create the best work of your life.

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