Marketing masterpieces

Advertisements have often used well-known artworks to promote products, whether in sections or in their entirety. As art is an abstract concept, (Do you remember your philosophy class?) we aren’t going to try to define it here.

The Birth of Venus by Botticelli

The Last Supper – 12 advertisers and the messiah

The original painting by  Leonard de Vinci

The above scene around the table is universally known and debated. The Last Supper is without doubt the painting that is the most often recycled in advertisements because it can be applied to everything. The 12 apostles are in turn remixed, modified, replaced, redrawn – but Jesus remains the focus of the pitch.

The Last Super, without Jesus

Jesus and his cell phone

Jesus and his canine apostles: an advertisement against animal abandonment

Jesus by himself… everyone else is watching Fox

Jesus is a woman!

The most well-known and possibly inappropriate ad of The Last Supper by Marithe and Francois Girbaud

An old announcement from Volkswagen (My friends rejoice – A new car is born)

Jesus disappeared

“Unforgettable Meals” by La Table catering service

The Last Supper in pixels

This time there is no one in the picture!

The Last Super: Poker edition

The Last Supper…for the rats

The Last Supper – promoting the gay festival

Sunflowers for sale

The originals – an inspiration for others to follow

Sunflowers made out of pencil shavings and closed.

Whether Pixelated or covered with characters, the sunflowers are still recognizablele

The scream by Munch goes commercial

The original – 1893

The world-famous painting The Scream by Munch is known for its depressive vibe, yet in advertising it’s used to humorously promote products. The dramatization of the painting becomes even more ironic.

A smile thanks to Daikin

In black in white for an art school… and an expression of horror after someone didn’t clean up after their dog.

The Scream in front of the product

Mocking The Scream

The minimalist take on The Scream.

The Scream was also used in a commercial in 1997.

Arcimboldo and his fruit

4 visuals, 4 seasons

An older ad marking Perrier

320

Orbit and Roc insinuating ideas of taste and freshness

Mondrian’s squared world

One of the original paintings

Mondrain was an important figure during the De Stijl movement. In recent times, his work was adapted by L’Oréal and Yves Saint Laurent. The square paintings are colorful, simple, and reusable.

L’Oreal’s flashy bottles

The essentials

Clearly, the most famous paintings are often used in advertising as an easy way to connect with consumers. Advertisers use these masterpieces in a remixed version to legitimize their presence in the market. The Catholic Church still keeps an eye out for religious works used in marketing, which remains a controversial topic.

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This post was originally published on Ad’Times by D