The Cult Of “Dr. Z”

The Times’ Dan Barry does yeoman’s work in expressing the ineffable . . . in this case, why Dr. Zizmor subway ads are so intriguing:

In “The Great Gatsby,” the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg stared out upon the ashen urban landscape from an old billboard in Queens. Dr. Eckleburg’s practice had long since vanished, but his gigantic blue eyes, framed by enormous yellow spectacles, continued to watch in seeming judgment the striving, hapless denizens of 1920’s New York.

The successor to the good Dr. Eckleburg is the good Dr. Zizmor, who gazes down at us now from subway car advertisements everywhere. Promotions for night school and safe sex come and go, but what lingers in the mind are the repeated suggestions of flawed being, as conveyed through the ads of Dr. Jonathan Zizmor, dermatologist.

He first began to scrutinize our facial imperfections a quarter-century ago through ads that promised, “Now You Can Have Beautiful, Clear Skin.” The eyes in his smiling, baby-chubby visage bore like laser beams into our skulls to read our innermost insecurities — about acne or moles or stretch marks or the risqué tattoo that seemed like such a good idea down at the beach that time.

One reason these ads continue to draw the eye is the art of their artlessness. Instead of featuring a sleek, nameless model promoting a national brand of beer, they present us with the image of a local doctor who is exceedingly average-looking and more than glad to take a look at that rash.

The ads also seem to celebrate typographical errors, which contribute to a look of having been cobbled together by someone who doesn’t work in graphics or advertising — which, it turns out, is the case. That someone is Dr. Zizmor.

. . .

People who deconstruct Zizmor sometimes interpret the rainbow to mean we are a city of many skin colors. Truth is, 15 years ago the doctor’s 6-year-old daughter was fiddling with the computer, came up with a rainbow — and he liked it.

Finally, the ads cast a spell because they combine Dr. Zizmor’s judging stare with language rooted in the tradition of the very finest direct-mail come-ons. One of the ubiquitous Zizmor ads currently featured in your local or express — his face appears, it is said, in every fifth car — includes a yes-or-no quiz to ponder as you rock and sway in self-consciousness. “Is your skin loose? Do you have more than one chin? Has your skin lost its firmness and tightness? Do you think you look older than you should for your age?”