McDonald's Embeds Fast Food Into Impressionist Paintings
Asserting itself as a modern classic.
From putting exercise bikes in restaurants to artist meals, McDonald’s has a history of finding creative ways of differentiating itself from other fast-food franchises. For McDonald’s latest campaign titled “Meant to be Classic,” marketing agency DDB Athens inserts the golden arches into historic impressionist paintings.
Characters in Édouard Manet‘s In the Conservatory and A Bar at the Folies-Bergère are seen holding large cokes and standing over half-eaten McNuggets, the ladies in Pierre-Auguste Renoir‘s Figures on the Beach hold McDonald’s takeaway bags as they prepare for an oceanside picnic, and Vincent Van Gogh‘s iconic self-portrait features a single bacon slice on his collar.
While the original paintings in focus are now considered masterpieces, the Parisian impressionist painters faced harsh opposition from the art community in France during the 19th century as they violated the conventional rules of academic painting. Building off this revolutionary spirit, McDonald’s asserts itself as a modern classic.
Elsewhere, take an inside look at Museum of the Future’s “Journey of the Pioneers” exhibition
