The V&A’s new poster campaign is a masterclass in visual storytelling

The V&A’s new poster campaign is a masterclass in visual storytelling

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)’s ‘If you're into it, it’s in the V&A’ campaign is bold, simple, classy, nostalgic and fun.

Ad agency adam&eveDDB drew deserved praise from the V&A’s head of integrated marketing and insight Sophie Rouse, who hit the nail on the head when she said: “Simple ain’t easy. It’s been an incredible team effort.”

The digital and poster campaign will run online and in print, where the campaign will be located in ‘special places’.

The campaign features historic items in cut out form, set on eye catching backgrounds, with the slogan ‘if you’re into it, it’s in the V&A’. The items include porcelain Shakespeare figures, Nintendo Game Boys, Star Wars memorabilia and, well, a cabbage.

“As a family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity,” Rouse continued, “we champion creativity in all its forms - everyday, stellar, tiny, epic, crazy, simple, complex, ancient, brand new - we're here for all of it.

“So, we wanted to celebrate all the things that you're into, that we're into - and we're going to be doing it in lots of different ways.”

Our take

Like the recent poster campaign by Gett, simplicity is once again the order of the day. 

This time, however, unfussy colour schemes and subtle uses of stylised patterns – matching the quirky images showcased – provide an easily digestible, instantly relatable reason to visit the London museum. The use of kitsch, sometimes surreal, imagery, is tastefully contrasted by the V&A’s decidedly elegant logo and matching font.

What makes the campaign so impactful is the element of the unexpected. 

No matter how many times we’re blown away by London’s world-beating museum offerings, museums as a whole still suffer from an association with stuffy glass cabinets filled with old rocks, and being shuffled into single file by a strict teacher.

adam&eveDDB does well to remind us then, that the curious and eclectic experience of the modern museum visit is something to be celebrated. By choosing items such as football kits and handheld gaming devices, the posters appeal to the inner geek in all of us.

Credits

adam&eveDDB team:
Alex Murray, Lydia Barber, Annabel Barry (Holmes), Stuart Williams, Xander Hart, Edward Usher, Chris Chapman, Mark Shanley, Tom White
Media planning and buying: PHD and Adylic.
Onsite design: Nina Jua Klein and Simon Wilson at SOUP.

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