347 years after his death, one of the greatest Masters of all time is brought back to life to create one more masterpiece. But this time, data is the painter and technology the brush: The Next Rembrandt.
The Next Rembrandt is a 3D printed painting made completely out of Rembrandt-data. All of his 346 paintings were analysed using hi-res 3D scans and digital files upscaled by a deep learning algorithm.
Facial recognition and machine software was designed to understand Rembrandt’s style and use those learnings to generate new facial features, which were assembled based on his use of geometric proportions.
Finally, a height map was created to mimic Rembrandt’s brushstrokes. The file was brought to life through an advanced 3D printer that printed 13 layers of paint based UV-ink.
The Next Rembrandt was unveiled and exhibited in Amsterdam on the 5th of April.
Campaign Success
We started by inviting various experts from the art and tech world, the international press and the general public to the unveiling and exhibition of The Next Rembrandt in Amsterdam.
A modern art gallery was transformed into an exhibition space with big screens with the actual algorithms at work, playing behind the easel with the painting, made out of zero’s and ones.
This special gallery was the place where the conversation started.
Via a call to action at the end of the online launch film, people all over the world were activated to visit nextrembrandt.com, where they could dive deeper into the process of creating the digital painting.
And a 20 minute documentary added another layer to the campaign focussing on the battle of man versus machine. Activating people to join the global conversation about where data and technology can take us. About ING’s innovation defying imagination.
Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results
- Earned media value: 12.5 million euro.
- The Next Rembrandt was global trending topic on Twitter, reporting almost 10 million Twitter impressions on the launch day and finally 25 million impressions
- Over 1400 articles (and counting) have been written.
- All major news networks covered the unveiling, not just as news, but also deeper analysis and comment on how it will affect future innovations.
- Globally over 1.8 billion media impressions.
In the Netherlands:
•234 news items
•covering all national and regional newspaper
•covering all Dutch TV news reports
•the late night show of that day
•>60% reach of general public (calculated by media agency)
Next to the on-going global conversation about what this means for our industry and the future of creativity, there was another fundamental result: the technology developed for The Next Rembrandt is now used for the restoration of damaged and partially lost masterpieces.
Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service
As a global bank, ING has been focussing on innovation as the way forward.
The Next Rembrandt brings data and technology to a world that’s riddled with tradition: ING’s sponsorship of Dutch arts and culture.
The 3D-printed painting made out of Rembrandt-data was unveiled and exhibited in Amsterdam. Experts, the press and the general public were invited to the event that was used to kickstart a global conversation about where innovation can take us.
Building ING’s reputation as one of the most innovative banks in the world. And raising some provocative questions for the world to consider…
If you want to activate the world to talk about your brand’s innovative spirit, you have to go beyond existing boundaries.
You have to defy imagination.
The Next Rembrandt brings back to life the Master of Shadow and Light. But this time, data is the painter and technology the brush.
We dove deep into Rembrandt’s body of work, analysing all of his 346 paintings on a pixel by pixel basis.
Facial recognition and machine learning software was designed to create the new portrait, based on the data of over 11 billion pixels. Pencil strokes were
A highly advanced 3D printer brought the digital file to life.
Via a call to action at the end of the online launch film people all over the world were invited to visit nextrembrandt.com and join the conversation about where data and technology can take us.
A conversation that went global.