How Instagram managed to revive the hand-painted advertising
Companies like Apple, Coca-Cola, and Gucci invest thousands of dollars annually to advertise their products in hand-painted murals
It seems curious that in the middle of the digital age, where the instantaneous and the ephemeral tendencies are worshiped, the art of painting advertising by hand is re-taking relevance. This slow and costly practice that was buried by photography, plotters and eye-catching digital printing decades ago, is now a product that large US companies value again.
Leer en español: Así logró Instagram revivir la publicidad pintada a mano
In the streets of metropolises like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, it is increasingly common to see gigantic hand-painted advertising murals with such perfection that it is difficult to believe that what is observed is not simply a huge poster. A lot of these advertising works of art in the USA are created by Colossal Media, a company founded in a garage in 2004 by three young hipsters who decided to risk everything to follow a passion, by then, unprofitable and increasingly less promising.
Making a hand-painted advertising mural can be 10 times more expensive, delayed, riskier, and more uncertain than a digital print. However, thanks to social media, the popularity of influencers and the rebirth of a culture that values the authentic, unique and 'handmade', this kind of profession has shaken off its archaic perception to become a trend .
According to The New York Times, Paul Lindahl, co-founder of Colossal, at first the only people who could benefit from the rustic aesthetic of hand-painted murals were customers of video games or alcoholic beverages. However, the meticulousness of their technique, the improvement of the paintings and the increased relevance of Instagram feeds full of street art made that larger brands were returned in time and began to covet the traditional murals.
According to Lindahl, at present companies such as Apple, Adidas, Gucci, and Coca-Cola are part of the list of customers who pay more than $ 40,000 to advertise in this way. And Colossal, a venture founded by just three people, now has 70 employees and performs between 450 and 500 painted advertisements per year in major US cities.
From selfies to brand visibility
Instagram has allowed street art to go through a moment of popularity never experienced before. In this platform you can find tens of millions of results of street art searching #Graffiti.
For brands, the implementation of advertisements captured in handmade murals represents the opportunity to connect with their users and consumers both on the physical and digital levels. For artists, the trend returns importance to a profession that had been replaced by technological efficiency.
LatinAmerican Post | Krishna Jaramillo
Translated from "Así logró Instagram revivir la publicidad pintada a mano"
