Pac-man Skull Revisited

"The outdoor for your kids. The museum for their video games."

Advertising Agency: LatinWorks, Austin, USAChief Creative Officer: Sergio AlcocerCreative Director: Diego CastilloArt Directors: Rob Casillas, Daslav MaslovCopy: Diego CastilloPhotographer: Sergio CelumeProduction Manager: Steve GrillPublished: May 2010

About 3 years ago I posted Le Gentil Garcon's Pac-man skull.  Gentil created the Pac-man skull back in 2004 in collaboration with a paleontologist to get all the small details correct.  It was simple, iconic, and anatomically amazing.It quickly became popular and made its way around the Internet, bouncing from inspiration blogs, to online art magazines, through social networking sites, and beyond.Now, this wonderful piece has landed in the center of an advertisement and I'm not sure how I feel about it.  On the one hand, I can see how this seemed like a great concept.  I'm in advertising and am guilty of using artist's works for inspiration as well.  But after seeing Gentil's piece 3 years ago, learning about how it was created, and then seeing the journey it's taken around the Internet, I have to say that seeing it in this ad somewhat devalues it.  All that creative work done by the artist is now tied to a silly line of copy "The outdoor for your kids. The museum for their video games."The people viewing this ad, probably for a duration of less than 5 seconds, will never know the work put into that original Pac-man skull.What do you think?Pac-man skull by Le Gentil Garcon[Spotted by Eric P.]