Photography and Text by Tony Ward, Copyright 2017
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MEMORABLE 80’S ADS
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One of the most memorable advertising assignments I received happened early on in my career. In 1985, I was contacted by Christina Pirello (maiden name Hayes) an art director at Bernie Brownstein Advertising, a Philadelphia based advertising agency. The art director contracted me to shoot a series of erotic photographs of a couple presumably in the midst of several passionate moments to represent the sale of a professional exercise equipment company. This was such a novel idea at the time, that I accepted the assignment. I was asked to shoot the pictures for the ads in black and white. I suppose the thinking was; some readers of the magazines where the ads were slated to appear; Philadelphia Magazine and others may have considered the images to be more pornographic than artistic if shot in color. I cast my wife at the time alongside male model Jim Mital, who was quite handsome and easy to direct and work with.
Photo: Tony Ward
This series of pictures assigned represent a precursor to what would later be my extensive immersion in the realm of erotic photography; a decade later when I started to produce erotic pictorials for Bob Guccione at Penthouse Magazine. The real distinction between these ads and what would transpire later between couples for Penthouse would require real sweat, not the baby oil and water spray “effects” commonly used at photo shoots to create this type of look in an ad.
To see additional Photography by Tony Ward during the 1980’s and 90’s, go here: http://tonyward.com/early-work/
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