kingadz: Analysis of King Adz by Samuel Munyeza (16-year old...

By :Anwar Washington 0 comments

Analysis of King Adz

by Samuel Munyeza (16-year old originally from Zimbabwe)

King Adz (Adam Stone) has a variety of job titles attached to his name including creative director and writer. This specific piece is a photograph of a mural he had done for a Lacoste sponsored event. The mural was completed in 2010. I selected this image because it best represents how Street Art as an art form, has transferred over into the world of marketing and advertising.

The mural is of the trademark crocodile logo that is globally associated with the Lacoste fashion brand, the crocodile however isn’t green but painted in a variety of different colours. The black wall features predominantly as a canvas for the piece, the multiple colours on closer inspection look like a graffiti collage as you are able to see random lines and patterns. The words “LACOSTE L!VE “ and “Street Knowledge” can also be seen in the mural, this clearly shows the purpose of the piece, advertising a Lacoste event and the book “Street Knowledge”. Although there are other parts of the mural such as the words and the mock aurora borealis which is painted using the same colours as the crocodile; the main focal point is the Lacoste logo.

Many brands and fashion labels are now turning to alternative methods of advertising this is because billboards and posters and other traditional methods of marketing are becoming more irrelevant and a nuisance to their target markets. More artistic methods are now being explored such as the flash mobs and public stunts T-Mobile use in their adverts. In the current economic climate businesses are paying up to £62,000 a second for coverage of their television adverts. This has lead to huge amounts of money being invested into alternative advertising; Street Art has achieved global success with names such as Banksy and Mr Brainwash gaining huge amounts of media attention with their controversial graffiti pieces.

I find this piece to be very poignant it marks a change in how Advertising is viewed, this piece not only advertises a brand but it gives more character than their traditional logo, it shows how the brand has diversified and changed to be more modern. Visually its great to look at this is because the use of colour is consistent creating a colour theme to the mural. The mural gives of a murky/dark mood, the use of the colour red with the crocodile and the “Lacoste L!VE” logo contrasts the black background gives the image a dark almost hellish vibe .

This picture has inspired me to examine how a brand could be presented in a way thats different and original.