This amusing series of ads reveal an unexpected side to famous artworks – one that’s totally different when you’re wearing glasses. Advertising agency Y&R: Paris created them for the France-based eyewear retailer Keloptic, and they demonstrate how the right pair of spectacles can put a blurred image into focus.
The campaign features Impressionist paintings by Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Georges Seurat. Visible brush strokes and an emphasis on light are defining characteristics of the 19th-century art movement, and this combination can sometimes look diffused and hazy. But here, Keloptic’s glasses transform the works. A superimposed lens held over the painting causes the fuzzy appearance to look as realistic as a photograph.
The message in these advertisements is clear, and Y&R makes their point in a clever way. They even came up with the tagline, “Turning impressionism into hyperrealism,” to further riff on the two styles. Not surprisingly, this campaign was well-received. It was the recipient of a merit award in the Magazine/Full Page or Spread – Campaign Category at the 2014 One Show.
Y&R: Paris website
via [Reddit, PSFK, and Ads of the World]