Walking or exploring its streets by bicycle is one of the main attractions of Amsterdam, which sometimes leaves the city’s cultural offerings in the background. That is why some of its main museums and galleries have chosen to take art to the streets to capture the attention of neighbors and tourists and encourage them to visit them and enjoy their proposal.
Amsterdam&partners, a public-private foundation dedicated to marketing in the Dutch capital, has launched, on behalf of the Amsterdam City Council, the “Catch me at the museum” campaign, developed in collaboration with Monks and JCDecaux. Its objective is to bring culture closer to visitors and residents and promote visits to museums.
The campaign gives voice to the works of art, which are those that directly challenge passers-by in different parts of the city. Ten museums, including H’Art Museum, Rijksmuseum and Foam, have contributed images of the works in their catalogs to shape the creatives. With daring and sarcastic phrases linked to the content of the work, the pieces invite the visit with the claim “Catch me at the museum”.
The campaign also includes two special activations with interactive elements that have tried to bring the creative concept to life, which have been developed together with JCDecaux Studios. One of them has transformed a mupi into the stage of a living statue, with an actress playing the protagonist of the original work, allowing passers-by to take photographs or even interact with the work of art itself.
The intention of the installation is to generate interaction with citizens and tourists and provide a layer of dynamism to the art to encourage them to dedicate time to culture as a leisure option that can also be fun. Those responsible for the campaign highlight the originality of the activation and the way in which it demonstrates the creative possibilities of outdoor advertising.
On the other hand, a second installation features an old red telephone mounted on a digital mupi. As explained by the brand and the agencies, it rings when someone walks next to the support, and when the call is picked up, a voiceover from the main character of the work of art is heard encouraging them to visit the museum in which it is located. Both special installations have been produced by JCDecaux partner O2H.
In addition to promoting the cultural offer, the objective of the campaign is to promote a better distribution of tourism in the city. “This campaign is not intended to attract more visitors, but rather to encourage those already in the city to discover the culture. In this way, we promote a type of visit that contributes to dispersion and a dynamic and balanced urban life.”, commented Monique Wilson, Director of Amsterdam&partners, in a statement.
For their part, Monks points out that the campaign is an example of how creativity can generate positive impact. “Amsterdam is in our DNA. This campaign demonstrates how creativity can contribute to something meaningful for the city and its cultural life.”said Vanessa Noordervliet, General Director of the agency.
They defend the same from JCDecaux. “For outdoor advertising, the city is our setting. By making culture visible in high-traffic places, we support the cultural sector and contribute to the quality of life in Amsterdam”, commented Hannelore Majoor, General Director of the exclusivist in the Dutch market.
The campaign runs throughout the month of March in Amsterdam through outdoor advertising, social networks, the website of the “I amsterdam” platform and the “I amsterdam City Card” application.
