Monsieur Advertising - Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet

France's equivalent of Howard Hughes was Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet (1906-1996), a self-made man, \i homo universalis\i0 , and charming playboy all rolled into one. And while Hughes, the Frenchman's contemporary, ended his days as a mentally disturbed hermit, collapsing under the weight of his own genius, Bleustein-Blanchet was a born optimist, a visionary always at least one step ahead of his time -- something that \i Monsieur Advertising -- Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet\i0 never misses an opportunity to point out. The film's title refers to Bleustein-Blanchet's role as founder of Publicis, France's most celebrated advertising agency -- "Du pain, du vin, du Boursin" is perhaps his best-known slogan. \i Monsieur Advertising\i0 employs the medium of biography to trace the origins of the modern consumer and the associated rise of contemporary advertising and marketing. It begins with Bleustein-Blanchet's birth. His parents, Jewish-Ukrainian immigrants, originally named him Moise, but as his daughter Elizabeth explains, his sisters considered this name too Jewish, too foreign, and registered their youngest brother under the name of Marcel. Interspersed as it is with material from archives and private collections, \i Monsieur Advertising\i0 resembles a promotional film with high production values -- a visual style perfectly suited to this intriguing portrait of Bleustein-Blanchet, the embodiment of the spirit of progress.