Thursday, July 22, 2010

Ad value

Back in the eighties the National Art Gallery – as it was then – showed an Edvard Munch exhibition. The advertising agency tasked to publicize the show came up with a campaign including an image of his famous painting ‘The scream’. Their headline? “Edvard Munch. What a scream.” They also offered up a Munch image of a young girl at her mother’s deathbed with the header “Lighten up Edvard”. The NAG didn’t run with the idea and the agency was told to come up with something less crass. Times change. Judging by a recent advertising campaign, the Metropolitan Museum in New York would snap up the Munch idea in a heartbeat.

Other tasteless art ads on OTN
Artnews
McDonalds