Good old method of publicity brought back by a firm injects a dose of hip attitude into 21st century commercial art in the city

Once outdated relics in a digital world, painted advertisements are flourishing once again in New York, putting a dose of hip attitude into 21st century commercial art in the city that never sleeps.

Toiling under the blazing sun of a heat wave, Justin Odaffer puts the finishing touches to a Ray-Ban ad he has spent several days painting on the façade of an East Village building in downtown Manhattan.

For the past seven years, Mr. Odaffer — who has a degree in fine arts — has painted ads on walls in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago for Colossal Media, which has risen from nowhere to become the leader in painted advertising.

“Basically, we created a revival,” says Mr. Odaffer. Without the company he works for, he believes painted ads would be hanging “by a very thin thread.”

But setting up the company in 2004 was a leap of faith, admits Paul Lindahl, co-founder of Colossal, which is based in Brooklyn’s hipster hub of Williamsburg.

‘I just loved it’

“Technology was taking over and there was really no need for hand painting at the time. Nobody cared,” says Mr. Lindahl, who comes from a family of Hungarian immigrants.

“It was expensive. It was slow,” he concedes. “I didn’t know if there was a future in it at that point. I just knew that I loved it.”

Thirteen years later, his company has 70 employees, paints 450 to 500 murals a year in major U.S. cities and is eyeing sales of $24 million in 2017.

Even though painted ads take longer and cost more, they offer advertisers a unique opportunity to set themselves apart.

Social media buzz

Seeing painters in action can generate buzz on street corners.

“People are astonished,” says Mr. Odaffer. “That’s why this company has done so well. It’s because people can actually watch the process.”

That buzz carries over onto social media, fuelled largely by photographs and videos that enhance brand visibility and advertising, says Mr. Lindahl.

“That brings value to what we do. What we realised along the way is yes, this thing takes longer than a digital ad or print ad but that’s part of the benefit. It’s performance art. People stop and they wonder and they’re intrigued.”