Local artist documents her father's 50-year career in advertising

ROYALTY- Advertising wiz Saul Mandel is known as "The King" for his creative work. Suzanne Mandel Canter of Agoura Hills always knew that her father, Saul Mandel, was a talented artist, animator and graphic designer in the advertising field. Seeing the scope of his career in pictures, she's been inspired to tell his story.

In paying tribute to her dad's life in advertising, Mandel Canter strayed from her usual work as a children's book illustrator to produce an awardwinning, 11minute documentary, "Saul Mandel: 50 Years of Advertising."

The brief biographical film won a bronze "Telly" award in the category of film and video. Telly awards recognize local, regional and cable television work from throughout the U.S. and the world, including commercials and programs made for TV, film and video productions, and commercials and other work created for the World Wide Web.

Saul Mandel, now 82 and still living in New York, was the man behind scores of iconic advertising campaigns. He created the Jolly Green Giant in the 1950s, as well as advertising campaigns for Lipton Tea, Folgers Coffee and many other product brands. Mandel conjured up the "Puppy Dog Love" stamp series in the 1980s, a promotion that spurred a line of merchandise still available for purchase at the post office.

Mandel Canter said she turned from writing her memories about her father to videotaping conversations with him so she wouldn't "miss anything."

"That is probably why I even got into making movies- to remind me to remember," she said.

Mandel's advertising art made everyday cuts and scrapes on kids' knees and elbows less upsetting with his campaign for Band-Aid adhesive bandages for Johnson & Johnson. In the 1970s, he developed in-store posters with, for example, kids swinging on monkey bars while sporting Band-Aids. The posters all won national awards.

"Kids loved to put (the bandages) on whether they were injured or not," Mandel says in the film. "It was a fun thing."

Mandel's advertising expertise spanned all industries, including automobiles, airlines, milk, candy, alcohol and a variety of nonprofit groups, such as the Boy Scouts of America and the Advertising Council.

Mandel's favorite project, however, was the Jolly Green Giant. "I had the most fun with it," he said in the documentary. "Nobody inhibited me in what I did, what I tried to do and how I did it."

For Mandel Canter, documenting her father's life as an artist was a labor of love. So much so that she wants to expand the short film into a longer documentary.

"I have a lot more footage- animation and movie footage from the 1950s through the '70s," Mandel Canter said. She is seeking additional funding to complete the project.

Mandel Canter even got her son, Zachary Canter, involved in the project. Canter and his friend Jeff Lehrer, both 18, produced the soundtrack for the video. Canter said Lehrer was the "musical ideal behind everything" and he was responsible for providing the "conceptual input for the music."

"We tried to communicate through music what my grandpa was feeling at the time," Canter said. The boys, playing two acoustic guitars, recorded five songs in all for the film. "Grandpa loved it," Canter said.

Growing up, Canter didn't realize his grandfather was such a prolific artist. After seeing the breadth of work his grandfather created, he set his sights on an advertising art career.

"He was much more of a family man," Canter said. "He never talked about his work. He liked to keep that separate."

"Three generations of the creative gene has definitely gone down from my father through me and to my sons," Mandel Canter said. "I, like my father and my husband, feel that this ride of life is not about the final destination but about the journey."

Mandel is happy with the documentary, his daughter said. And he's happy with the artistic life he lead for a half-century. "It was a gift that I was given, and I thank God for it," he said.

A gala to celebrate the release of the film and to exhibit Mandel's advertising art and paintings is scheduled for the fall.

For more information, e-mail Mandel Canter Art Studio at mandelcanter@yahoo.com.