NY goes back in time with hand-painted ads
Revival of old-fashioned street art rakes in big bucks
NEW YORK: Once outdated relics in a digital world, painted advertisements are flourishing once again in New York, putting a dose of hip attitude into 21st century commercial art in the city that never sleeps.
Toiling under the blazing sun of a heat wave, Justin Odaffer puts the finishing touches to a Ray-Ban ad he has spent several days painting on the facade of an East Village building in downtown Manhattan.
For the past seven years, Odaffer – who has a degree in fine art – has painted ads on walls in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago for Colossal Media, which has risen from nowhere to become the leader in painted advertising.
“Basically we created a revival,” said Odaffer.
Without the company he works for, he believes painted ads would be hanging “by a very thin thread”.
But setting up the company in 2004 was a leap of faith, admitted Paul Lindahl, co-founder of Colossal, which is based in Brooklyn’s hipster hub of Williamsburg.
“Technology was taking over and there was really no need for hand painting at the time. Nobody cared,” said Lindahl.
“It was expensive. It was slow,” he conceded. “I didn’t know if there was a future in it at that point. I just knew that I loved it.”
Thirteen years later, his company has 70 employees, paints 450 to 500 murals a year in major US cities and is eyeing sales of US$24mil (RM103mil) this year.
Even though painted ads take longer and cost more, they offer advertisers a unique opportunity to set themselves apart.
Seeing painters in action can generate buzz on street corners.
“People are astonished,” said Odaffer. “That’s why this company has done so well. It’s because people can actually watch the process.”
That buzz carries over onto social media, fuelled by photographs and videos which enhance brand visibility and advertising, said Lindahl.
“That brings value to what we do. What we realised along the way is yes, this thing takes longer than a digital ad or print ad, but that’s part of the benefit. It’s performance art. People stop and they wonder and they’re intrigued.”
Chris Cockerill, general manager of the New York office for Lamar Advertising, one of the world’s largest outdoor advertising companies, agrees – even if the growth still accounts for a fraction of the market.
“We’re seeing more around the city. It’s a unique product that advertisers are asking for now. In the past, it’s been something a little more difficult to sell,” he said.
Lindahl attributes the growth to multiple factors – luck, timing, the “do-it-yourself” trend and the enduring popularity of street art.
But are commercial ads really art? Definitely, according to Odaffer.
“It’s still the same process as other street art,” he said, adding that many of the painters started out with some form of street art.
“The quality of the painting has improved a lot,” said Cockerill. “It stands out better than it has in the past. It makes advertisers feel like it’s more of a hip-looking ad.” — AFP