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85. Advertising is dearly the most influential art form in this century. It is therefore tempting to think it is also the most important. However, great artistic achievement is determined by criteria beyond mere influence. And when examined against these criteria, the genre of advertising does not measure up as truly important. To begin with, great art inspires us to look at the human situation from new perspectives. For example, early impressionist paintings challenge our thinking about visual perception and about the nature of the reality we assume we see. Other works, like Rodins The Thinker, capture for our reflection the essential value of human rationality, in stark contrast, advertising encourages people not to think or reflect at all, but simply to spend. In addition, the significance of great artistic achievement transcends time, even when it reflects a particular age. Yet advertising, by its very nature, is transient; in an eye-blink, todays hot image or slogan is yesterdays news. Of course, the timelessness of a work cannot be determined in its own time. Still, its hard to imagine even the most powerful advertisement living beyond its current ad campaign. | 
