Well, this is going to ruffle a few feathers that's for sure. One of my mates just sent me the link to this blog:
Copycunts.
Now I have no idea who writes this blog, and to be honest it is
perhaps a little harsh, but the subject of plagiarism is always one that really gets the old juices flowing. It's a sad yet true fact that whenever I see a great ad out there nowadays, the first thing I think is 'where did they nick that from?'
Of course, direct obvious thievery is most definitely to be scorned upon. But in actual fact it isn't as simple as that. The big problem is that agencies support and indeed culture such behaviour. It's not always purely down to the creative team. Hear me out.
It has become extremely difficult to sell in an original idea. Everything has to be like something else in order for agency people to 1) understand it 2) feel confident enough to sell it. If there are two ideas up against each other, the one with visual references will 99% of the time be the route that gets made.
So, after learning that this is sadly how things work in most agencies, teams are pretty much forced to succumb to this endless 'referencing' (let's just call it that for now).
I must admit that it took me completely by surprise, naive as I was. Having done courses like the student D&AD and Creative Circle prior to getting hired - where teams are forced to sit in a room with just a layout pad, marker pen and their bare wit - I was used to 'best idea wins.' Best
original idea. It's a sign of the times, but put most teams in a room with so few materials now and they wouldn't know what to do with themselves (myself included perhaps). What the hell do you do with Google, YouTube etc?
The amount of times I've seen teams presenting an idea with a 'reference' saying 'and we found this, which fits the idea perfectly!' No, you found that first then crowbarred your idea into the reference. But Creative Directors don't say anything because they can see a superficially good ad and awards, suits just wanna sell, clients lap it up because it's familiar, same with research groups. Going with an original idea means taking a risk. And who can afford to take risks in this climate?
So what happens? The cycle continues. After all, it's easier and your Creative Director is happy. Plus, the work you're getting out is great. Of course it is, because it's already been tried and tested before.
It's usually easy to spot an ad that's been nicked, even if you initially don't recognize the original source, because the actual idea is wafer thin. It's usually an awesome execution with a line/idea that's short and pithy.
So the moral of all this? Get back to basics.
Write a fucking good idea. It takes longer but it's more satisfying and your conscious will be clear. Tell me something true about the product in an imaginative, interesting way I've never previously thought about. Once you've got an awesome strategy, then you can find a reference.
Of course, some people couldn't give a fuck. They'll keep on 'referencing'. Because it's easy. And hey, us creatives need to be down with 'popular culture'. And at the end of the day, being an advertising creative isn't just about having good ideas, it's about being canny, political and knowing how to play the sodding game.
