A riotous new twist in the art of gentle persuasion!
1961-12-20
N/A
107 min
Jerry Webster and Carol Templeton are rival Madison Avenue advertising executives who each dislike each other’s methods. After he steals a client out from under her cute little nose, revenge prompts her to infiltrate his secret "VIP" campaign in order to persuade the mystery product’s scientist to switch to her firm.
I'm not sure there's too much actual acting going on here, more like Rock Hudson, Doris Day and Tony Randall just having some fun with an entertainingly and occasionally quite witty script from Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning. Hudson is successful advertising executive "Jerry" who works for the hapless "Peter" (Randall) and is the antagonist of rival "Carol" (Day). Despite her best efforts to nail him for his unscrupulous business tactics, he always manages to wriggle free. Meantime, "Rebel" (Edie Adams) is one of his gals who's fed up with his empty promises. When "Carol" manages to get her to support a complaint to the advertising standards committee, "Jerry" has to think on his feet - and he offers her a job as the face of "VIP". Photoshoot in the can, can on the shelf never to be seen again, an appeased "Rebel" and a frustrated "Carol". Well not quite, because "Peter" gets wind of the photography and decides to release it - big style! Snag? Well there's no such thing as "VIP"! With the campaign taking off spectacularly, he now has to find a product to fit the bill(boards). Mad scientists, a bit of "Wonka"-esque creativity and some silver wrapping - but can it work? Of course, as with "Pillow Talk" (1959) there's a bit of burgeoning incognito romance going on which adds a little to the humour and general confusion, but for my money it's Randall who steals the piece as the wealthy boss who wouldn't know a good deal if it bit him on the lip - even if his analyst told him. Not the best title for the film, but it's good fun.
