Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo dealing with today's corporate world has everyone in splits

Several art pieces from years ago hold valuable positions in the creative industry. Apart from being an inspiration, a legacy and a priceless possession, it also has traces of the artist itself, which is authentic in its own way. However, one often wonders what these artists would be like when creating in the modern era. BBDO created an advertisement portraying just that to boost creative professionals to enter a contest for the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP). Reposted by Scott Christian Sava—who goes by @ssavaart on TikTok—the ad portrays what creating art would be like in contemporary society and features the actors posing as the legendary artists Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo.

The ad beautifully depicts the hilarious atrocities the original artists would have to go through had they been creating for the corporate world. The commercial begins with Van Gogh meeting with his assistants over a deal for the iconic “Starry Night” painting, which is today world famous for its vivid detailing and abstract aura. However, Van Gogh witnessed a rather hysterical dialogue over the same. “They found the tone a little dark,” one of the assistants said to the artist. There was more “feedback” the clients had to share. “Can you make it a Sunny day?” the assistant asked. Van Gogh, a little baffled, said, “The title of the painting is ‘Starry Night.’” His assistants convinced him that there was zero problem with the title.

“Don’t change the title, change the painting,” they said to him ironically. The next shot captured the bold and innovative Frida Kahlo and her “Self-portrait.” She, too, is seen dealing with the shenanigans of clients. “Hey Frida, we just wanted to talk about the painting. The clients loved it, they’re just a little hung up on the forehead area,” her assistant said. On further inquiry, the assistant revealed, “The junior client found the confrontation distracting,” pointing toward the eyebrow section of the self-portrait, which was one of the artist’s unique elements.

On further discussion, the assistants also let the artist know that the client’s husband had a rather peculiar input. He found the painting “unrelatable.” The artists aced their boggled expression, which would have been very close to the popular creators’ expressions had they been stuck in corporate ruthlessness. Furthermore, Van Gogh was exposed to the idea of focus groups, which left him baffled beyond measure. “We just got back from testing and your painting failed,” the assistants said. “How can a painting fail?” he asked bizarrely.

The assistants then suggested that he make some changes in his approach to “connect with the younger audience.” He was then introduced to a creator who would “add himself into the painting.” On the other hand, Frida Kahlo was going crazy over the client’s disapproval of having monkeys in her portrait. She was forced to consider adding other creatures, per the client’s preferences. “People trust puppies. Give it a thought,” they suggested to the artist. Lastly, Van Gogh lost his mind over the client, who finally ended up purchasing the painting. “They purchased the vertical version,” the assistant said.

“But I didn’t paint a vertical version,” the artist said, confused. The assistants informed him that they had his junior apprentice comp off the piece into a vertical design. “So you’re telling me they took my landscape painting and cropped it?” he asked. The assistants had a vicious reply to the same, saying, “I don’t quite miss what was on the sides.” “It’s hard to make museum-worthy art. It’s harder to make museum-worthy ads,” the ad concluded.

You can follow Scott Christian Sava (@ssvaart) on TikTok for more content on different forms of art.