Buying a Home in NYC Is Dramatic, Just Like a Renaissance Painting, StreetEasy Says

Finding a home can be stressful and often feels overwhelming. Buying a place in New York City elevates the drama to Renaissance-painting levels, according to a campaign for Zillow’s StreetEasy service. And these visuals do not disappoint.

Mother New York teamed up with design agency Buck to create “Let the Journey Begin,” comprising seven pieces with Old World style illustrating ways to solve modern problems. Like whether to renew a lease, become your own landlord or expand the home search across multiple boroughs.

“Couple concedes that friends in Park Slope may have a point,” reads a bustling image of East Village crowds (with the Barcade and Leh-Boy in the background). Be on the lookout for additional Easter Eggs, too, like “Dan Smith Will Teach You Guitar.” (Locals know what we mean.)

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“The process of buying a home anywhere—but especially in NYC—is one that’s intensely emotional and filled with many ups and downs,” says Bridget Sullivan, head of integrated marketing at StreetEasy. “We felt the Renaissance style was perfect to mirror that through its dramatic use of light and shadow and meticulous attention to detail. The goal was to invite future buyers to embark on this journey with us, with a campaign that is as inclusive to buyers as it is to current renters who hope to own a home here one day.”

The ads are running on Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Pinterest and YouTube, plus MTA subway cars and taxi tops. In April, ads will be seen in the Broadway/Lafayette subway stop, along with hand-painted murals at Wythe and N. 14th Streets in Williamsburg and Spring and Lafayette Streets in Nolita.

“The whole creative process from brief to live was about six months, however the actual artistic process of creating the paintings was about two months,” adds Nedal Ahmed, ECD of Mother.