Looking at... Rare French Gorillaz Advertisement

One of the coolest pieces in my Gorillaz collection is an obscure French ad from 2001 promoting the Clint Eastwood and 19-2000 singles. While this may seem unremarkable at fist glance, what makes the advertisement notable is the extremely rare artwork spanning it's front - a piece that, besides the extremely low quality version pictured to the right, exists nowhere else on the web. In fact, my version is different from the "Rasputin Music" equivalent; Murdoc being a briny green on my copy, while theirs shows a tan skinned take on the character. How strange is that?

Some suggest that it may be a green overlay on the photo, while others think it could come down to a difference in how certain monitors and cameras pick up colors. You'll notice 2-D's hair is noticably lighter in the Rasputin image, while on mine, it's a bit more purple. Based on the Rasputin image being a digital version with mine a physical, I'm assuming there was, in fact, a green hue added to my version of the artwork; as further suggested by Noodle and Russel's greyer skin, and the general darkness of the colors.

A later version of the above image

Astute fans will notice that this art was conceptually reused during Gorillaz' second marketing phase, with each character replaced by their updated designs; though, the second version appears to be an entirely new drawing, simply sharing a similar structure. No other versions of this artwork exist, making it exclusive to Gorillaz' first two eras; though, unsurprisingly, countless artists have taken it upon themselves to fill in the blanks.


The ad is printed on glossy cardstock, and is a big larger than your average paper, suggesting to me that it was a sort of "flyer" available perhaps at record stores or similar shops. I recall similar ads were listed by the person I bought mine from, which further supports my theory. From what I've translated, it boasts of the singles' success, as well as what radio and television stations will be airing the accompanying music videos. Very interesting to jump back to a time before some of the most famous of Gorillaz content had been realized.

Having reintroduced the artwork to fans years ago, it's awesome seeing it become a common image among the following; once all but unknown, now respected and loved by many - I've even seen fully animated incarnations made! As small as my relation is, it's great to have made a small impact by rediscovering this neat little image.