In the year AD 1512, when Michelangelo was applying the final brush strokes to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, one can only imagine his satisfaction upon completing a painting that remains one of the most famous works of art in human recollection. Massive in scale, this monumental endeavor is a testament to Michelangelo?s skill?though not necessarily his creativity. Art, which most of us would label as one of the most creative fields of study, was not always so.
Before art exploded to encompass the ?everything can be art? mantra commonly heard today, the rules governing painting were just as strict as those concerning carpentry. Paintings had to look a certain way, and few artists strayed far from the religious ideologies underlying the practice. Skill and ability were key to success, while creativity only took place within the confines of a limiting world.
Since 1512 and long before, the western world has been steadily eliminating the boundaries that confined art. Now, art can be anything. Bleeding edge technologies (many of which are enriched and surrounded by the internet), are applied in new and increasingly interactive ways, leading to never before seen works. This level of creativity, which springs forth from the minds of free thinkers unrestrained by common know-how, has bled over into industries tangentially located to the art world?namely the advertising industry.
Before the internet, the ad industry was somewhat stagnant. We had print, television, and radio as our big three ad mediums. Now, the internet has opened up fresh avenues of thought, quickly becoming the new force of growth in the ad industry. What type of mind does it take to make a great work of modern art? I?d argue that the less constrained the mind is by traditional thinking (while still maintaining a deep knowledge base in the art world), the more likely the mind will bring forth something new and compelling. While the flowering of creative thought brought on by the free-thinkers is only just starting to be applied towards internet marketing efforts, there are already some promising efforts.
In the coming weeks, we?ll be delving into several innovative advertising campaigns and methods that were made possible by the internet. We?ll take a look at why they were successful (or not), and how you can use them to your advantage.
If you have any stories of successful ad campaigns you?ve run or even noticed recently, send them to
[email protected], and we?ll post the best ones.
