Roberto Vergati Santos And His Sell-Out Superheroes In a world where everyone is for sale, superheroes are one of the few who managed to stay true to themselves. If they did sell-out, Roberto Vergati Santos offers us a glimpse at what it might look like. You surely can’t remember the last movie you saw that didn’t advertise a brand. Product placement is virtually a stock standard component in all major movie franchise these days. Having started with James Bond whom back in 1962 opted for a ‘Red Stripe’ rather than his signature vodka martini, this trend became more and more popular. That’s the basis for these thought-provoking works of art by Italian graphic artist and digital manipulator Roberto Vergati Santos, based in Milan. This artist invites us with his “Sponsored Heroes” series to reflect upon what society has become. Santos takes images of familiar superheroes from movies, television, and comics, and assigns each one a brand. Although it’s a simple technical execution, the message is powerful. It forces us to contemplate on how disturbing it would be to see superheroes wearing a big Nike logo on their costume or enjoying a Happy Meal between fights to earn a little extra income from McDonald’s. What happens when superheroes stop fighting for the American way and start fighting for the American corporation? Is it that incomprehensible that at some point, we might see one of our favorite and much loved superheroes sponsored by a corporate brand? Many of our favorite superheroes are wealthy, sponsored by the government, or otherwise manage to scrape together the funds to keep up their crime-fighting lifestyles. Sure billionaires Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne probably don’t need the cash, but what about The Incredible Hulk, Wolverine or Captain America?
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 07:54:19 +0000
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