The Van Gogh Museum Hosted a Pokemon Promo (And Things Got Violent)

We just reported on Pokemon taking the skateboard world by storm, offering a quality combination of packaging, screen-printing, and hard goods — not to mention the exclusivity factor by teasing special-edition boards and limited quantities.

The Pokemon fervor continues, though. This time, it's at the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. As part of the museum's 50th anniversary, there would be some Pokemon-themed merchandise and artwork, merging the two universes such as having Pikachu be the one wearing the Grey Felt Hat on a special edition trading card, or artwork of various Pokemon in Van Gogh's famous impressionist style.

Here's an in-person look at the Van Gogh Pokemon merchandise including card sleeves, playmats, puzzles and more!

📸: @thewossy pic.twitter.com/BVwL2llHw2

— Pokemon TCG Restocks & News (@PokemonRestocks) September 27, 2023

As part of the promotion, visitors received a printed pamphlet branded as a Pokemon Adventure program, which would guide visitors through the works of Van Gogh that inspired the special edition artwork. Once they complete the educational process, visitors can hand the completed leaflet in for the Pikachu card (limit one per customer).

This all sounds great on paper (and it is a great use of both print and promo, no pun intended), but, as we said up top, sometimes these Pokemon promos tend to go off the rails. And that's exactly what happened in Amsterdam.

Videos surfaced of people practically climbing on top of one another to grab special edition prints and other promotional products.

Meanwhile in the Pokemon at Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam... 🤦‍♂️#Pokemon pic.twitter.com/1pQxo4EcXF

— TeamPDC (@pdc_adrian) September 28, 2023

It was so bad that the Pokemon company had to issue a statement apologizing.

We apologize to all the fans eagerly awaiting our Pokémon Center x Van Gogh Museum release today.

Due to overwhelming demand, all our products from this collection have sold out. We understand this is disappointing to many who were looking to our official email and social media… pic.twitter.com/KM3ZCO1EQZ

— Pokémon (@Pokemon) September 29, 2023

It's a shame, too, because this is a beauty of a museum promotion. It brings in people who otherwise might not buy a ticket for the museum, and not only does it get them in the door, it encourages them to actually learn about the art and the history in exchange for the special promotional product.

Had this worked out without the violence, this would have been a 10/10 promotion (though we try not to quantify the value of art on such a scale).