If you’re in Toronto, have you noticed these strange statues popping up all over town? Advertising uses the language of art!
The Wind Mobile ad, in front of the Black Bull pub at the corner of Queen and Soho Streets.
Image: VoCA
Created in the same vein of Molson’s legendary campaign, Joe Canadian’s “Rant”, this statue is pitched as an ode to the average Canadian. It’s an ad by Wind Mobile. Citing the cyber identities of three people who have commented on its blog asking for better deals for mobile phone customers, the statue “commemorates Flippy, Mr. Ideas, Flowergal and the thousands of other Canadians who rose up against an unresponsive mobile industry.”
We looked, so they looked. Image: VoCA
You would think that advertising agencies – hotbeds of creativity that they are – could at least come up with some attractive public art for us to enjoy. At least then maybe the ad wouldn’t seem so bad.
Just a thought.
Andrea Carson writes on contemporary art, architecture and design...
4 comments ↓
I actually thought these were pretty awesome. I mean, I’m as against huge, public advertising as anyone else, but these are audacious and original.
When I first saw one that was a bit more life-sized that the large one you’ve pictured here, I thought it was someone covered in paint so I was expecting it to suddenly move! Though, I gotta say, I was pretty sick of their ads playing before all the movies I saw over the Christmas holidays.
I also thought it was cool at first glance. But I find there’s something sneaky about advertising (which I generally don’t like) masquerading as art (which I generally love.) Ads are getting sneakier - have you seen those illegal ’spotlight’ ads where a guy sits in a car all night and projects an ad onto the side of a building?
What did you think of the ‘Absolut Art’ ads, btw?
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