Creating great art is hard enough as it is, without outsiders giving their “feedback”. And yet that’s the situation creatives in any commercial environment face every day. BBDO NY’s “Museum Worthy” imagines what might have happened if Vincent van Gogh and Frida Kahlo made art to order. What criticisms would they have faced? And would they have been willing to compromise?
Directed by Brian Billow of O Positive (who’s helmed spots for Netflix and Fox Sports, among others), the film begins with Vincent busy at his canvas when he’s interrupted by two obvious “account people”. They inform him with a sprinkling of corporate jargon that the client found his painting “Starry Night” a little “dark.” Vincent fails to hide his exasperation.
Similarly, poor Frida is criticised for her unconventional appearance in “Self-Portrait with Monkey” – not to mention the inclusion of the monkey – deemed “confrontational and distracting.” The endline delivers the message: “It’s hard to make museum-worthy art. It’s harder to make museum-worthy ads.”
It's all great fun, with star turns from John Hoogenakker as Vincent and Erika Soto as Frida. The piece was made for the AICP (Association of Independent Commercial Producers). Or rather, their annual awards, which effectively meant that Epica gave an award to an awards show. You’ll find out how the team felt about that below.
Meanwhile, the AICP raised an interesting question. Can some ads be considered art? Since advertising always reflects culture, it’s certainly worth preserving for future generations.
Museum worthy, in fact.
Congratulations on your Film Grand Prix win for “Museum Worthy”. We felt it lived up to its name! Tell us a little bit about how the agency got involved with the AICP. Is this your first campaign for them as a client?
Yes, it’s our first spot for AICP. Ralph Laucella, from O Positive and last year’s AICP Show Chair, reached out to our global CCO, Chris Beresford-Hill to see if BBDO would help create the call-for-entries film. Chris then reached out to us and asked if we had the bandwidth. We all said we were too busy. Then Chris asked again and we realized he wasn’t really asking if we had bandwidth. We collectively wrote about 6-7 scripts. This one was the clear winner.
How did you develop the idea for the witty film? All of us who’ve worked in creative professions can identify with it: were you expressing a certain frustration?
It’s been a challenging few years in our industry, the film was cathartic.
How long did it take to cast the artists? The actors are wonderful in the piece.
The whole project moved fast. From script to production to finished product was literally a matter of weeks. For casting, we did it remotely over one Saturday, but we called in our favorite actors over the years, so we had a decent idea of who could play what going into the thing.
A great deal of attention has been given to the sets and the make-up. Can you talk a little about the shoot and how all the details came together?
Brian Billow and his team at O Positive crushed the production. Direction, costumes, make-up, sets, everything was just note-perfect. From the jump, Brian shared our belief that it’d only be funny if you played such a ridiculous premise real and grounded. And to do that, we had to get all the details just right. We shot on location, in LA, no company moves, one day. And we finished before dark, despite us yelling half a dozen alt lines every break in the action.
We must be one of the few awards shows that’s awarded another awards show! Any thoughts on that?
It’s odd to get an award for a film about an award show, from a different award show. But it’s 2025, nothing makes really sense so we just go with it.
