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Mona celebrates its worst reviews in first-ever brand campaign

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mona worst reviews campaign

‘The Best of Our Worst Reviews’ brand campaign repurposes Mona‘s most ruinous reviews to promote the museum.

Mona, Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art, has launched its first-ever brand campaign, a celebration of its worst reviews, despite owner David Walsh‘s contempt for advertising.

‘The Best of Our Worst Reviews’ brand campaign repurposes Mona‘s most ruinous reviews to promote the museum, which has been described by Walsh as a “subversive adult Disneyland”.

“A bit of ad spend is a necessary evil as we help the Tassie tourism industry recover from the impacts of Covid,” said Mona’s director of marketing and communications Robbie Brammall.

“But hopefully we’re doing it in a Mona way – one that’s ill-advised and potentially disastrous.”

Mona‘s most ruinous reviews

The quotes featured in the brand campaign are real one-star reviews that have been shared on Tripadvisor, Facebook and Google since Mona opened in 2011.

‘The Best of Our Worst Reviews’, which launches this month, was shot by award-winning director Alex Roberts of Finch and visual artist Derek Henderson.

Merchandise featuring the one-star reviews, as well as an augmented reality (AR) filter for Instagram, will hit the market in late March. “We’re hoping to pay for the campaign in tote and T-shirt sales,” Brammall added.

“David may hate advertising, but he loves honesty,” said Jardin Anderson, head of creative at Mona. “And the truth is some people love Mona, and some people hate Mona.”

“A whole lot of weird, sad stuff”

“Luckily we believe that all opinions are valid,” Anderson added. “So valid, in fact, that we’ll put them up on a billboard on Parramatta or Punt Road.”

Mona was built by Walsh to house his collection of ancient, modern and contemporary art. It is Australia’s largest private museum and the second most-visited tourist attraction in Tasmania.

The collection, described by SChemny78 as “a whole lot of weird, sad stuff”, includes works by James Turrell, Wim Delvoye and Alfredo Jaar.

Check out more of Mona’s worst reviews.

Images: Mona

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Bea Mitchell

Bea is a journalist specialising in entertainment, attractions and tech with 10 years' experience. She has written and edited for publications including CNET, BuzzFeed, Digital Spy, Evening Standard and BBC. Bea graduated from King's College London and has an MA in journalism.

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