Monday, October 29, 2007

Why The Digitized "The Last Supper" by Van Gogh Advertising is Sacrilege



First take a look at the post below and at the digitized painting site (blow up the mysterious knife holding hand indicated above). http://www.haltadefinizione.com/en/

Then consider this:

1. Only 300,000 people can view the painting in Milan to protect it from further decay.
2. On the internet millions can now view the painting in much greater detail than in person while soothing music plays. It's a true multimedia experience. And...a brand new way to view art.
3. The internet version of "The Last Supper" is interactive...it's fun to enlarge specific areas of the painting (such Christ's head) or pan from side to side.
4. The success of this should result in more large scale digitized paintings on the net ("The Mona Lisa", Monet's various "Water Lilies," Seurat's grand canvas "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" and so on....).
5. So how do you use this in advertising?
6. Well..not the way it's currently done in the remarkably unholy "The Last Supper"
7. Google AdWords link to a.) "Da Vinci Prostatectomy." b.) A link to find paintings on eBay c.) and, finally, an AdWord that makes sense "Milan Last Supper" for Milan tours
8. And...at the bottom a banner ad for Sprungle Swiss chocolate! Like popcorn for viewing the site?
9. Wrong!, Wrong! Robots matching ads to sites...that's the unholy, sacrilegious result here which will work against the sponsors rather than for them. But the site's makers should have their eye on all this and demand changes.
10. Yes...there's a poster of the painting...better.
11. But where is advertising asking for donations to preserve the painting, or for Milan hotels to stay in when you visit to see the masterpiece...or even an Armani corporate ad highlighting a preservation donation
12. That's what's needed here. For the future this is a huge opportunity for museums to highlight major moneymaking exhibitions, to sell posters and books, and travel to these locations. That's the way to monetize digital art.

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