The Key Art Awards have honored movie marketing art for 35 years. The awards were created in 1972 to recognize the talented artists who design posters and other graphics to promote movies. The first awards honored Bill Gold for his posters of four films, with "Johnny Got His Gun" winning best poster designed by Don Record. Now in its 35th year, the Key Art Awards have become the premier awards for movie marketing artwork.

1. 35 YEARS OF KEY ART AWARDS
LASTING IMAGES
FOR 35 YEARS, THE KEY ART AWARDS HAVE HONORED
THE ART BEHIND THE BUSINESS OF MOVIE MARKETING
By S.V. McKim
T
he Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards probably were
referred to informally as “the Academy Awards for movie
marketing” long before they came to share a venue with
the town’s other big night in 2004, but the late arrival
to that stature never dampened the spirit behind the
industry’s premier movie-marketing awards competition.
In announcing the new awards in May 1972, then-publisher
Tichi Wilkerson Miles laid out their mission statement: “The
Hollywood Reporter proposes to honor an unsung group of artists,
the talented men and women responsible for the conception
and creation of the two-dimensional graphics which sell motion
pictures and television programs.”
The first six Key Art Award finalists were unveiled on the front
page of the July 17, 1972 edition. It was a good day for Bill Gold,
who created four of the posters named: “A Clockwork Orange,”
“Dorian Gray,” “The Night Visitor” and “There Was a Crooked Clockwise from top left, Robert J. Dowling introduces
Man.” That group was joined by “Kotch” and “Johnny Got His the 2005 Key Art show, winners and celebrants at the
Gun,” the latter of which was named the first best-of-show winner 17th annual show, the crowd for a Key Art ceremony at
for creator Don Record. the Kodak Theatre and The Hollywood Reporter’s front-
The creation of the Key Art Awards coincided with changes in the page story about the first Key Art Awards in July 1972.
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