Art and advertising are closer than either would like to admit. Both are uniquely able to grab our attention and refresh our perspectives on the ordinary. And both deal in ideas first (Henry Flynt introduced the idea of art as 'concept' in 1961, about the same time that advertising started to take itself seriously). When it comes to changing attitudes and challenging structures, artists and advertisers are learning from each other more than ever. So what can we learn from them?

Protest as performance

In the midst of 2009's credit crunch, artist Stuart Semple wanted to add some positivity to a struggling London. He discovered that he could inject helium into fake snow. He also discovered that, while it would take months to organise a performance outside the Tate, it was relatively easy to ask the police for permission to hold a protest. A protest against doom and gloom that saw smiley clouds floating all over London.

What could you do with a protest that was more art than anger?

Ladies Only

In 2020 artist and curator Kirsha Kaechele opened Ladies Lounge, an exclusive women-only space at the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Hobart, Tasmania. It was intended as a commentary on the decades of exclusion women have experienced in public life (in parts of Australia women only won the right to drink in bars in 1970).

When the museum was sued by a man who'd been refused entry, the artist celebrated his participation in the piece, claiming men's experience of being excluded was the art. Her court appearance became a performance piece in itself, with identically clad supporters filling the gallery and making synchronised movements. What if your organisation made mischief like this? More here.

Crushing capitalism.

Sometimes the simplest statements are the most powerful.

Chavis Mármol with the nine-ton Olmec head he dropped onto a Tesla.

Gallery goers on a bench made from a crushed Range Rover.

What would you like to destroy, and how?

Billboards as art.

Immediate, public and necessarily simple, billboards are an ideal medium for both art and advertising. Thanks to playful media companies like Build Hollywood, the lines continue to blur. And, as Bill Bernbach knew, ads without logos are the most intriguing of all.

Anti-Oasis billboard, Shoreditch, London.

Pro-immigration billboard, Jeremy Deller.

Blood is blood is advertising is art.

Stuart Semple's partnership with ad agency Mother includes a protest against gay men being excluded from giving blood in the US, regardless of their HIV status.

Gay men's blood was used to print t-shirts; then create a range of art materials, sold via Mother's online shop, so that others can create their own works.

Learning from artists might also mean thinking of your campaigns as desirable objects, not advertising ephemera.

Light and heavy at the same time.

CALM's Missed Birthdays installation raises awareness of suicide using 6,929 birthday balloons. More here.

Taking to the streets.

Ryan Gander's treasure hunt has distributed 200,000 thought-provoking coins across Manchester. More here.

Good artists copy, great artists steal.

This quote has been misattributed and stolen many times, so let's do it again. And make the case for learning from (or collaborating with) artists if you want to grab attention, change minds and move value around. Maybe your next campaign will be in a gallery, not a YouTube preroll or a programmatic popup.
Much of this edition of Wild Ideas has been stolen from this book and this book. Both Wildly recommended.