ROM Sets Bold New Direction with Explosive Pompeii Opening

Michael Lee-Chin Crystal transformed into Mount Vesuvius with dramatic light installation
Outdoor video projection is part of ROM marketing campaign from new agency BT/A Advertising
Spectacle enjoyed at #FNLROM by more than 3000 participants 

© Scott Ramsay

(TORONTO: June 13, 2015) — The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) introduced Pompeii: In the Shadow of the Volcano last night with an explosive multi-media show lighting up Bloor Street. The ROM’s iconic Michael Lee-Chin Crystal was transformed by a dramatic light installation projecting foreboding images of Mount Vesuvius onto the Museum. The immersive week-long display re-created the experience of living under the threat of the famed volcano using a series of increasingly dramatic projections. The spectacle reached its climax tonight at 10:00 pm with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. A fireworks display from the roof of the Lee-Chin Crystal and a sound show coincided with the eruption to make ROM visitors feel as if they were at the foot of the volcano. More than 3,000 revelers, many dressed in togas, enjoyed the once-in-a-lifetime event as part of the Pompeii-themed Friday Night Live (FNL) event, presented by Ford of Canada.

To download high resolution images from each evening, please visit: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ecz9i0wp4p16z54/AACqx5enIMOrn0HptuSAxQ2Ka?dl=0

The light installation on the Lee-Chin Crystal is just one part of the Pompeii marketing campaign created in partnership between the ROM’s in-house marketing team and its new agency BT/A Advertising. Other components of the campaign include comprehensive digital and social campaigns, zone wraps at Dundas TTC Station, streetcar wraps, activations on the ROM’s plaza, as well as TV, outdoor, transit, digital, radio and print ads. Signage at Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport and pre-show spots in Cineplex theatres will debut in July. The campaign features a looming image of Mount Vesuvius and is in market across the GTA from June 6, 2015 to January 3, 2016.

The destruction of Pompeii is one of history’s most storied natural disasters. It is also one of the world’s most significant archaeological sites. The ROM’s exhibition features 200 artifacts, many of which have never before travelled outside of Italy. These include casts of those who perished in Pompeii, some created using 3-D technology and making their international debut at the ROM. Visitors will leave the exhibition with a sense of history’s relevance to our lives today and the ongoing impact of natural disasters on our world. 

Full exhibition details and timed tickets are available at https://www.rom.on.ca/pompeii. Visitors this weekend will enjoy a special ROM Big Weekend program overflowing with Pompeii-themed activities for the whole family.
 

                                           Organized in partnership by the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, in collaboration with The Superintendence for the Archaeological Heritage of Naples and The Soprintendenza Speciale di Pompei, Ercolano e Stabia.

Media Contact
Marnie Peters, AVP PR & Publications
marniep@rom.on.ca, 416 562.1635

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