mcdonald's takes over impressionist paintings in 'meant to be classic' ad

MCDONALD’S WANTS TO BE ELEVATED TO CLASSIC

DDB athens has unveiled a new ad campaign that wants to elevate McDonald’s to a classic. titled meant to be classic, the campaign sees a series of ads where the famous golden arches are embedded into classic impressionist paintings. 

from manet to renoir, the artworks have been reimagined to include the paintings to interact with the brand.

featuring a meant to be classic line below the paintings, the ad campaign by DDB athens for McDonald’s takes impressionist’s artworks and uses it as a canvas for advertising. the agency has inserted the branding within the intricate paintings, showing the characters interact with the fast food.

a bar at the folies bergere – edouard manet

IMPRESSIONIST PAINTINGS FEATURING THE FAMOUS GOLDEN ARCHERS

characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brushstrokes, impressionism was a 19th-century art movement with an emphasis on the depiction of light and its changing qualities. from monet, degas, renoir, and cézanne to manet, the group of painters that initiated the movement were both talented and reckless, eager to withdraw from the strict rules imposed by the culture of the time.

in this campaign, artworks such as renoir’s figures on the beach and manet’s renowned a bar at the folies-bergére have been tinkered and brought to our present times through the addition of McDonald’s food items. for example, manet’s painting depicts a parisian barmaid serving chicken nuggets from a branded paper bag, while renoir’s one sees a woman interchanging her basket for a McDonald’s take-away bag.

figures on the beach – pierre-auguste renoir

by adding itself to these renowned paintings, McDonald’s wants to become a classic itself. 

in the conservatory – edouard manet

project info:

name: mcdonalds athens impressionist campaign
advertising agency: DDB athens
executive creative director: costas vanis
senior art director: eirini tzioti
illustrator: gerasimos chatzis