As Oscar Wild once said, “all art is immortal.” And we cannot really argue with that. Clearly, some paintings don’t need any adjustments to “last” forever. However, they can be brought up to date. Just watch how some of the 21st-century artists used technology as a trick to make younger generations more engaged in art. This is the case of Dali Museum’s project ‘Dreams of Dali,’ in which you can virtually explore the Spanish painter’s dreamlike world. If re-living the art in VR doesn’t satisfy you, then you can try to recreate Munch’s iconic painting “The Scream,” using Adobe’s digital brushes inspired by the artist’s 100-year-old paint tools.
So, there you go: we have a chance to admire, walk around, and reinterpret some famous paintings from scratch. But has it ever occurred to you to add more details to some of the world’s most renowned artworks? It hasn’t? Luckily, it has to Ogilvy Chicago. Assigned with the mission to craft a new brand experience for the shoe polish company Kiwi, the ad agency thought it would be a great idea to complete the bottom half of the 10 most iconic portraits.
Through our weekly #ThrowBrandThursday column, we warmly invite you to digitally attend the Chicago-based agency’s exhibition showing “Portraits Completed.” The enriching exhibit showcases some of the world’s most famous portraits only that, each of them features a new component where the subjects’ shoes are revealed to the public.
To illustrate what the characters are wearing on their feet, the agency imagined 10 pairs of shoes that best compliments the fashion statement of each subject. Moreover, to assure that the newly-designed slippers perfectly fit with the portraits’ identity, the agency followed the same style and brush stroke technique of their upper half.
The 10 pairs of drawings were assembled as an artistic whole and took out to the streets. After pedestrians enchanted their eyesight with the unique collection, the agency decided to put it on display in one of the most exclusive art galleries in Chicago. But, most importantly, to assure that everyone understands what the exhibition is all about, the agency developed a humorous audio tour that introduced the visitors to the cultural world.
With a peaceful musical background, a masculine voice calmly narrates, piece by piece, some interesting facts about the authors and their iconic paintings. Before the end of each audio piece, the voice introduces the brand’s name into the magical descriptions, integrating it so well within the stories that the listeners will find it hard to figure out which side of the spot complements the art and which one is dedicated to advertising.
The campaign broke the local barriers and managed to conquer art enthusiasts from around the world. To make the gallery accessible to anyone, the agency partnered with a museum app, which uses AR technology, to allow people to catch a glimpse of what happens beyond the frames of the masterpieces. Finally, the app directed the curious viewers to Kiwi’s website and, best of all, it invited them to save the complete portraits to their phones.
Ogilvy Chicago hit the jackpot with “Portraits Completed” this year. The project scooped one Gold, one Silver, and three Bronze Lions at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2017. Moreover, the initiative impressed the jury of Clio Awards, who awarded it with one Gold, nine Silver, and 3 Bronzes.
Hit the play button on the audio tour, unlock its exclusive content, and let yourself be carried away into a wonderful cultural universe:
