Icelandair just staged one of travel marketing's most unconventional contests: a worldwide hunt for the planet's most technically incompetent photographer. Over 127,000 people from 178 countries submitted entries, and a Paris-based photographer named Blanche Mortemard took home the title and a $50,000 prize.
The concept was deliciously simple. Rather than seeking technical prowess, compositional mastery, or artistic vision, the airline wanted someone whose photos consistently disappointed in every traditional way. The logic behind it was equally brilliant: if Iceland's landscapes are naturally so striking, even a genuinely bad photographer should struggle to make them look ordinary.
Mortemard's winning portfolio was a masterclass in photographic failure. Her images included a snowy Oslo street scene half-blocked by someone's thumb, a blurry and wildly overexposed shot of the Statue of Liberty, and an awkward framing of a seagull on a lamppost that somehow also captured half a person's ear. The judges described her work as displaying an "admirable lack of skills and knowledge of basic photography," and the competition did not hold back on that assessment.
How to Apply to Fail Spectacularly
The screening process was equally entertaining. Applicants answered multiple-choice questions that forced brutal self-assessment: "How would you describe your photography skills? Truly awful; Quite bad; Bad but I'm enthusiastic; Occasionally okay; Above average." They also submitted 60-second video auditions explaining why their photographic incompetence made them ideal for the job. The response overwhelmed expectations.
"For years, friends and family have asked why my photos always look disappointing," Mortemard said after winning. "I'm thrilled to finally have an answer: I was training for this role. This project celebrates imperfection, probably the only photography competition I ever stood a chance of winning." Her self-awareness alone was worth the price of admission.
A Campaign That Captured Something Real
What began as a cheeky marketing stunt resonated far beyond what Icelandair expected. The campaign struck a nerve in a culture oversaturated with filtered, curated, and meticulously polished imagery. Gísli S. Brynjólfsson, the airline's global marketing director, noted that "people are tired of manufactured perfection." The contest celebrated something genuinely rare in travel marketing: unvarnished authenticity.
"We're thrilled to have finally found our bad photographer," Brynjólfsson said. "This project has resonated across the globe because people admired others' courage to embrace imperfection over fakery." That honesty clearly struck a chord with a global audience exhausted by the Instagram version of travel.
Mortemard's prize includes a 10-day expedition across Iceland where she'll document the country in her own unmistakably flawed style. Icelandair plans to feature her photos in its marketing and social media channels, turning her mistakes into the centerpiece of their promotional campaign. She gets the $50,000 to cover all travel expenses and her work on the project.
"I'll be documenting Iceland with the confidence of a professional photographer and the skills of someone who definitely isn't one," Mortemard quipped. "If Iceland can survive being photographed by me, it can survive anything."
The overwhelming response to this campaign reflects something deeper than just clever marketing. Travelers are hungry for real moments, unfiltered perspectives, and a break from the endless scroll of perfection. Mortemard's trip will likely produce photos that are technically terrible and somehow more honest about travel than anything shot by a seasoned professional.
