AICP Awards Teach Vincent Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo a Lesson

In two comic short films released today by AICP to promote entry to the AICP Awards, we get a sense of just how hard it can be to create 'museum-worthy ads,' given the amount of 'creative input' built into advertising’s unique and at times frustrating approvals process. 

In 'Museum-Worthy,' we open on Vincent Van Gogh working in his studio as two account people, dressed in period clothes but spouting contemporary marketing-speak, bring unwelcome feedback on his classic 'Starry Night.' “The client loved the painting,” says one, “they just found it a little, um, dark.” Similarly, account folks in 1930s-era garb approach Frida Kahlo to tell her that one of the junior clients found elements of “Self Portrait with Monkey” a bit “confrontational and distracting.” Neither master takes the criticism well. A companion short, 'Focus Group,' shows how Van Gogh’s 'Starry Night' gets pummelled by average 19th-century folks who find it “terrifying.” “Was it done by a child?” asks one woman.

The films were directed by O Positive’s Brian Billow, with creative concepts and consultation by creatives from BBDO, led by Chris Beresford-Hill, chief creative officer of the Americas, and editorial from Cutters. Both use an insider tone and tongue in-cheek-humour to make a serious point – if you want your work to be recognised by your peers (despite all the challenges) and ultimately reside in the film archive of MoMA, you need to enter the AICP Awards by March 12th, the extended entry deadline.

The AICP Awards comprises three competitions - The AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the Commercial, The AICP Next Awards, and the AICP Post Awards. Entries are open until March 12th at 11:59pm PT. To be eligible, work must have first aired or launched between March 13th, 2023 and March 11th, 2024; full entry details can be found here. 

The results of each show will debut during AICP Week in New York, from June 4th to June 6th, and be featured at a gala celebration at The Museum of Modern Art on June 6th, 2024. All winning work in each AICP show in the AICP Awards Suite becomes a part of the archives of The Department of Film at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, where it can be studied by future generations and is available for use or exhibition by the museum’s curators. All individual works, and each year’s shows in their entirety, can be viewed exclusively here, the AICP Awards Archive website.