Once again an inspiring fact in the words of passionate creatives, I couldn’t have stated it better myself “Scam ads -Are unethical. It’s fraud. You’re cheating against me, us, your peers. You are basically padding your resume, not very different to using steroids in baseball, falsifying sources in journalism, or faking a test. It’s wrong, plain and simple. -Damages brands. In the digital age, unapproved communications can fly around the internet causing a PR nightmare. This also sets up a ripe opportunity for libel suits. -Lots of awards mean better jobs. Unfortunately, this is true. There are too many egotisical rockstars who’ve gotten those jobs based on faking it, at the expense of the many talented people who haven’t needed to fake it and who do the real work. Yes, there is a role for outlandish ballsy risktakers. But there should not be a role for unprofessional cheaters. -Creates a false sense of talent and ability for agencies. Creativity is one thing. Being able to make it for a real brand is another. An agency that wins tons of awards but who’s real work is less than stellar really is only fooling themselves. Sadly though, they also end up attracting talent who will be disappointed with the real output. Same with the clients who thing that are getting a great agency. If they’re willing to fake their entires, what about timesheets, billings, etc? What’s the line when it comes to professional ethics? -Ruins the process and creative department’s overall credibility. Award shows should celebrate the best work that gets produced. That’s our job. That’s the hard part. If you can’t make a good scam ad with no brief, then frankly, you must suck. If you’ve ever worked with CD who’s built a career on scam, you’ll see how hard it is for them to create great work with real briefs. Talented as they are, they often fail to do what their job is – sell. Creativity and selling go hand in hand in this thing we call advertising, and that should be rewarded. Scam doesn’t ‘raise the bar’ of creativity. It lowers it. And lowers the credibility of the people, agencies and shows who promote it”.
Winner of Silver in the Print category PELICANS
Winner of Bronze in the Outdoor category PELICANS
Agency: Team Y&R Dubai
Client: Harvey Nicholos
Year: 2013
There are some other examples of this BIG idea and art-direction which involves a toaster suronded by (obviously) toast bread and yet another one with a deodorant can surrounded by “screws” and yet another one featuring a pencil sharpener and pencils, one more features an electric socket and a plethora of plugs.
Check out the links
Also interesting is to check out the following links which prove the adage that “lightening does NOT strike twice at the same place” and that “A good idea will sneak up behind you, pull your pants down, and run away giggling”
October 2004
Less original: Zain
Agency: JWT
Creative Director: Mazen Faied
Kuwait – Jan 2008
Hmmm, so much like the MTC…I mean Zain; cupcake/spoon ad.
copy an idea, replace the coffee with a cupcake and voilaaa you have a Zain ad but that does not mean it is a good ad
Client: Cafe’ Supreme
Agency: C3
Country: Kuwait – 2009
Advertiser: UNILEVER ARABIA
Brand name: AXE DEODORANT
Agency: LOWE & PARTNERS DUBAI
Country: UAE
Awards: Cannes Lions 2004 Press No-Prize
Account Supervisor: Rupen Desai
Advertiser Supervisor: Anil Gopalan
Photographer: Tejal Patni
Entrant Company: LOWE & PARTNERS DUBAI
Creative Team: Nirmal Diwadkar, Manoj Ammanath, Adham Obeid
Agency: Jung von Matt/Donau
Now the bottom line is…
A copycat is a person that mimics or repeats the behavior of another. The term is often derogatory, suggesting a lack of originality. The expression may derive from kittens that learned by imitating the behaviors of their mothers. – Wikipedia.
Plagiarism: The abuse of another’s original work by copying it and passing it off as one’s own. As defined in Alastair Campbell book titled The Designer’s Lexicon. Page: 293 ISBN: 0-304-35505-4.
“Imitation is the sincerest form of thievery” excerpt from a book by Capsule titled Design Matters. Page: 84. ISBN -13:978-1-59253-341-1.
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