Courtesy AGO

The Art Gallery of Ontario will be using an unusual marketing vehicle when the Walker-organized show ANDY WARHOL SUPERNOVA: Stars, Deaths and Disasters, 1962–1964 opens there next month–a pink-roofed hearse. Highlighting the macabre side of Warhol’s work (his electric chairs and car wrecks), the hearse will be driven by a Warhol-wigged driver who’ll hand out AGO buttons at film festivals, jazz concerts, Pride parades, and street parties.

Photo: Don Wester

Here at the Walker, our most successful mobile marketing tool was an ice cream truck we took to festivals and parks to raise awareness of our ongoing programs when the building was closed for renovation. Covered entirely with the identity of our Walker without Walls campaign, it made literal our headline “Art goes everywhere.” We handed out thousands of frozen treats, provided (like the truck graphics and rental) by Target.

Marketing staffers Giselle Restrepo and Meara McIntyre. Photo: Adrienne Wiseman

Less glitzy, but by all indications effective, is our annual Taxi Breakfast. We invite cab drivers to drop by for free coffee and a boxed breakfast as a way to familiarize them with our location, and of course we load them up with a bag of Walker promotional goodies. We serve between 35 and 75 drivers every year.

Earlier: Frescoes in taxicabs.