Why Art Conquers a Photo
The other day a prospect asked me
why a cartoon should be used instead
of a photo for their marketing.
No better example to turn to than
some recent current events with the election
and who won and who did not.
Just ask Johny boy who sat a-twiddlin' his thumbs while Obama
was a-deliverin' his Stimulus package dealio the other night.
Here's what I mean.
Last Sunday, I got snaked into CBS Sunday morning
show. I didnt want to watch TV as I was stepping
out - but was immediately pulled in because of the subject matter.
Shepard Fairey, the artist who did Obamas portrait, was featured.
Now leave whether you voted for the man aside for a spell.
They showed the piece of art that became
known as the Obama signature sign.
See this pict for reference.

It became the image of the campaign, Time Magazines ran it as a cover
and hundreds of thousands of prints were created from it.
No it wasnt a photo, it was a graphic rendition of Obama
taken from an Associated Press photo.
This portrait icon grew quickly as the identifying mark
of Obama's campaign. Posters were created from
it, t-shirts, mugs and a bunch of other chach-ka.
Obama himself wrote a letter to Fairey
on the piece... "Your work moves people. It uplifts them."
This piece of art when compared to the photo
in which Shepard worked from is like night and day.
The associated press wants a piece of the action
as they are in a big legal battle with Fairey
over the rights to the image... or some crap like
that.
Hey AP have you ever heard of Andy Warhol
and other Pop Art?
Duh!
So this brings me to my point... a photo is just that
a photo. A work of art brings your essence alive
like it did for the Obama campaign.
Did this make the difference in winning
and losing. Maybe maybe not. Fairey would like to
think so.
Here's what I do know.
There's a line in Monsters Ball that goes,
art can capture someone's essence better
than a photo because ... the lines that make up the art are ALIVE.
Interesting thought, eh.
Given that, there are times to use a photo
over art. However, if you want
to move from Under Dog to Top Dog, ART is the place to START.
To get a 15 minute phone conversation
about how to position you in your business,
run over to.... our FREE Cartoon Consultation page.
Best,
Vince Palko
The Godfather of Cartoon Marketing
Author of The Art of Selling Using Cartoons