Mona celebrates its worst ever reviews in first ever integrated brand campaign via FINCH
Despite owner David Walsh’s disdain for advertising, the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) has today launched its first ever brand campaign for the highly divisive Tasmanian museum.
The Best of Our Worst Reviews was shot by award-winning director Alex Roberts of Finch and famed photographer Derek Henderson.
The Best of Our Worst Reviews campaign repurposes the museum’s most savage reviews to promote the very thing Mona’s visitors love to hate. Led by a series of cinematic digital videos, the integrated brand campaign provides a subversive new use for bad reviews.
Says Robbie Brammal, director of marketing, Mona: “A bit of ad spend is a necessary evil as we help the Tassie tourism industry recover from the impacts of COVID. But hopefully we’re doing it in a Mona way—one that’s ill-advised and potentially disastrous.”
The quotes featured in the campaign are collated from real-world reviews shared in the decade since Mona’s opening in 2011, with over 400 stunningly bad one-star reviews sourced from across Tripadvisor, Facebook and Google.
The campaign launches this month across social, TV on-demand, cinema, inflight and outdoor placements, with a particular focus on Tasmania’s key inbound markets of Victoria and New South Wales. Merchandise featuring one-star Mona reviews, as well as an AR instagram filter, will hit the market in late March.
Adds Brammal: “We’re hoping to pay for the campaign in tote and t-shirt sales.”
Says Jardin Anderson, head of creative, Mona: “David may hate advertising, but he loves honesty. And the truth is some people love Mona, and some people hate Mona. Luckily we believe that all opinions are valid. So valid, in fact, that we’ll put them up on a billboard on Parramatta or Punt Road.”
The campaign runs until 28 May.
Built by David Walsh to house his collection of ancient, modern and contemporary art, Mona is Australia’s largest private museum—and the second most-visited tourist attraction in Tasmania. Today, the museum’s extensive private collection includes works by James Turrell, Wim Delvoye and Alfredo Jaar, while its calendar of touring exhibitions has showcased the likes of Matthew Barney, Marina Abramovic and Gilbert and George. Or as SChemny78 described it: ‘A whole lot of weird, sad stuff.’
Mona is open 10am-5pm, Thursdays to Mondays. Situated on a peninsula in the suburb of Berriedale, Mona is best accessed from the River Derwent via the Mona Foma ferries that depart from the Hobart waterfront.
Discover more of Mona’s worst reviews: mona.net.au/the-best-of-our-worst-reviews/
Mona
Director of Marketing and Communications: Robbie Brammall
Senior Marketing Manager: Daniel Aitken
Head of Creative: Jardin Anderson
Head of Content: Liana Rossi
Finch
Production: Finch
Director: Alexander Roberts
Exec Producer: Corey Esse
Producer: Kate Menzies
DOP: Matt Toll
Post: Atticus
Stills: Derek Henderson
Casting: Byrne Casting
32 Comments
The website experience is brilliant too!
A brand like Mona has so much promise. Shame they went with an idea that’s been done to death.
Great example of a beautiful production with an idea 10 years out of date Robbie use a creative agency next time.
good. clever. like
Beautiful.
This is fantastic.
Well done! Finally an ad with an idea.
good on you pest… website is great too.
But who else could do it in such a pure unadulterated way? I’m jealous.
Great work.
Brilliant work funny stuff. Big enjoy
Nice one Jardi! I agree with Jason Leigh.
Hehe love the negative review play. Reminds me of this iconic 2000s work https://www.reddit.com/r/GossipGirl/comments/j5azxw/this_was_such_a_good_idea_to_advertise_it_like/
Go to the website with ur speakers turned up and thank me later. I’ve been pissing myself for a solid 6 mins.
Ironically, unless your work sits in MONA, everything you do has probably ‘already been done’. We make web banners for a living, get over yourselves.
Besides, this ‘idea that’s been done’ is far more executionally relevant for MONA.
This is funny as hell.
I mean there’s been done. And there’s been done to death. You don’t have to look hard to find at least 5 or 6 campaigns in the last couple of years that have done this exact same thought. The production, writing, direction, is all amazing. But the concept is lazy.
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/this-campaign-trolls-tourism-sites-with-negative-reviews-to-promote-sustainable-travel/
https://www.euronews.com/2019/06/08/paintings-are-disgusting-vienna-mocks-web-reviews-in-ad-campaign
https://www.adweek.com/creativity/this-ski-resort-turned-one-star-reviews-into-a-five-star-ad-campaign/
https://www.boredpanda.com/one-star-reviews-into-illustrations-national-parks-amber-share/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
Great casting. Lovely direction.
https://www.snowbird.com/one-star/
…of joy. Lovely work! Well done all.
Congratulations Jardy, Robbie and team. Lovely spot. We all want your job!
Strategy is bangon and idea makes way more sense for The MONA than a skifield with a handful of average reviews. You literally walk around the MONA with an iphone so you can hit a love or hate button at each art work. FFS… it’s clearly targeting general public… not arty crowd or navalgazing advertising wankers who love to cry foul about ideas being done. NO ONE CARES… Everyday punters will love it.
I don’t love it
Great work Robbie and team. Beautiful and it has an idea.
I do love it
Featured reviewer KelvinP has a great idea for a new display. Go with it!
It’s good… and it’s going to work
Mona’s communications in the (distant) past has been clever and well written. They don’t have a client, their only filter is themselves.
For this to be their first campaign, and one with no restraints, is disappointing.
I thought this was pretty clever and very well written. Watched the whole thing, enjoyed it and even went to the website—which is more than I can say for 99% of stuff on here.
I wouldn’t say it’s groundbreaking but the casting/direction/storytelling/craft all nail it. And I spent ages clicking thru the site. Funny as feck. Three and a half stars.
You make a big deal about how much you hate advertising.
But then you make something, and it’s not even unique or good.
It’s been done to death as a concept. But damn. The film craft and that track were solid. Very hard to stop watching.
What’s with the spelling mistakes in the suburbs of the disappointed?