Opentable And Illustrator Tim Tomkinson Go Way Beyond Dinner Reservations In Australia

No one–no one–wants to find a hair in their food. For its Australian launch, OpenTable leveraged that universal truth and others with a branding campaign that in no roundabout way illustrated to diners, “Next time, get the right table.” Tim Tomkinson was brought on to detail five awkward, unappealing scenarios in which dates and families wound up noshing at a morgue, dog-grooming table, surfboard shaping bay, massage table, and a library–presumably because no restaurant reservations had been made.

OpenTable realized their bold, tongue-in-cheek Aussie entrance, helmed by Creative Director Brendan Callahan and Art Director Alexandra Styc, by publishing the illustrated ads in magazines as well as posting on billboards and across public transportation in Sydney and Melbourne. Having worked previously with Callahan, a fellow Parsons alum, Tomkinson’s challenge lay mostly in the project’s eccentric specificity and tight turnaround time. He even put his family to work, photographing most of the detail-heavy scenarios to get them just right before taking each one to pen, ink, and paper and, finally, applying color digitally.