The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text. No wonder creatives do so well and reach people across the globe. A visual creator has the power to impact a person with their work. Creatives have always been used to create awareness in the most effective way possible.
When the WHO released their basic protective measures against the coronavirus, content creators, artists and designers around the globe got their creative juices flowing. All of them had one goal- send across the message of social distancing in the most creative way. Some were interesting, some were clever and some were downright funny.
Social channels of the movie Knives Out put up a modified version of their original poster, while also hiding an Easter egg in the form of a spoiler pointing to who the actual killer was. With their attention to detail, just like in the movie, they went on to even remove the names of the stars and technicians involved.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2jhxpVApaX
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-F26XkFE8Z/
Concept artist Bosslogic did cheeky tweaks to popular Hollywood movie posters by either entirely removing people from the poster or having interesting takes on the visual. He even went on to change a few movie titles. The message was clear- maintain social distancing!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-D_AR2pJGn
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-LrBPepb26
https://www.instagram.com/p/B961Pm3Jx0V
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-CcDN2p-DW
Classic Paintings were also given the COVID treatment. Chennai based designer Nithin’s take on The Last Supper had a very lonely Jesus Christ having supper all by himself. The creative makes you laugh but definitely sends the mood of the whole world in a picture!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-BazdcjS22
Brands have also jumped into the bandwagon of advocating social distancing in interesting ways. An Ayurvedic medicine brand based out of Mumbai made use of Instagram’s carousels to do this. By separating a sentence with empty carousels in between them while saving the message for the very last carousel. You get the message, even from a distance!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9_Wp_NHCZJ
A group company from Chennai had rolled out a PSA campaign featuring popular superheroes. The campaign urged everyone to stay home by showing the superheroes domesticated and doing household chores.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAPEKGDpy_5
A mural painted on the walls of Tambaram Railway Station, Chennai created by Chennai based artist, Varshini Ramakrishnan in collaboration with Chennai based Nalanda Foundation salutes the front line warriors in a colourful and optimistic way.
Memes and their creators have now become synonymous with pop culture and there’s no denying that we have come across a lot of memes on this topic. There will always be that one meme that hits you hard and right in the feels. The Pablo Escobar (played by Wagner Moura) one from the Netflix TV Series Narcos is one such meme.
These creatives show us the power of retaining the message, giving audiences the perfect balance of awareness, pop culture and relatability, all the while, being original. It is definitely more powerful now, knowing that one of the few things you don’t need to worry about keeping close is your creativity and the content you consume!
We heard this in March, we hear it today. Maintain proper social distancing while venturing out. Stay in, stay updated and if you come across any such interesting creative work, share them with the world!
