Volkswagen Battery – 2000
Claim : “Lasts up to 4 times longer”
Source : Cannes Shortlist!
Agency : AlmapBBDO (Brazil)
Duracell Car Battery – 2006
Source : Cannes Archive Online
Agency : Ogilvy & Mather Mexico City
(Mexico)
Advertising Agency: FP7, Oman
Creative Director: Noufal Ali
Copywriter: Arun, Noufal Ali
Illustrator: Sannop, Renjith Pillai
Photographer: Jacob.k, Sandra M. Matheson
Client Servicing: Ajay Menon, Manish Rodrigues
Koba Car Battery – 2009
Claim : “Long lasting batteries”
Source: Rusty idea / Une idée élevée en batterie
Source: Koba long lasting batteries
For some reason Media Week was desperately defending this particular job by FP7 Muscat. I mean they spoke to me for more than one hour and only quoted me in two or three sentences yet they dedicated a full page to defend a clear case of plagiarism without referring to any of the creatives. it is on joelepompe site and it is debated on adblogarabia; here is a link to the debate Koba long lasting batteries
Lateral Thinking: When a low probability line of thought leads to an effective idea, there is a “Eureka” moment and at once the low-probability approach acquires the highest probability. – Edward De Bono. Excerpt from a book by John Townsend & Jacques Favier titled The Creative Manager’s Pocketbook. Page: 2. ISBN: 1-870471-69-5.
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.
NOSPEC.COM
Paragon Marketing Communications
Again FP7?!?
The only tools they need in their agency is an archive of worldwide ads and a tutorial of photoshop.
Very Good morning Mr.Anubis. Err.. the owner of the website http://bloganubis.com ( Anubis is a guardian of the veil and the lord of the Cleansing Room. So I think it would be inappropriate to use his name instead of yours).
Well, there are so many ways for one to reach the pinnacle. Some try hard to make it, while some do it simply by bitching about others. And not to mention, clearly you’re of the second type.
If you bitch about FP7 that they have taken a short cut to success by doing scam works, well, it clearly goes to show that you’re also in the same run. Trying to gain fame by bitching about FP7.
If you dig into this website, you have published some of the creatives from Saatchi & Saatchi, Dubai that won the Lynx last year. Yes, 2 campaigns for Olay. One featuring the ages. And the other one using passport authorities, etc. They have actually copied it from the world famous Olay campaigns. And the worst part is, they have done it for the same brand, and that too very famous campaigns.
The question is, did you make a noise about it? You never did. Then why are you targeting FP7 now? It only shows that you’re trying to become famous by spoiling their reputation. As simple as that.
Commenitng about this ‘Long lasting battery’ creative, I do agree that it’s similar in terms of concept. But look at the first two works you’ve posted. The Mexican work is a clear copycat of the Almap work. But not FP7’s. It’s entirely different in terms of execution.
Besides, there’s something called ‘Coincidence’. This work could be a coincidence, unlike Saatchi & Saatchi’s work last year. Will you bet to differ?
And c’mon man, you know it for sure that most of the entries from the Middle East are quite often scams. Not to blame the region for it, bcause getting approvals for a great idea here is not that easy. And you know it.
So stop bitching about others (I don’t mean just FP7, but the entire region as a whole),
and find out a better way to gain fame. End of the day, you’re also in this region, and it would affect you as well.
Warm regards,
Sam
You will be amazed to know that they some times do not need a tutorial of photoshop as they do not do the work themselves like this example http://bloganubis.com/2008/11/09/to-spoof-or-not-to-spoof/
you will be shocked to know that some times they do not need an archive of worldwide ads they just visit a website, like the work then they take it and slap a logo onto it and submit it to the Lynx. http://bloganubis.com/2009/03/19/anatomy-of-recycling/
Sam, based on your pinnacle of logic – you are seeking fame by bitching about the blog that bitched about Fp7. so revise your logic, reconsider your language and tone.
Thanks for your kind advice. I’m not running behind though! Because to me, means matter as much as the ends.
Thanks for your kind advice. I’m not running behind fame though! Because to me, means matter as much as the ends.
For a brief as simplistic as ‘longer lasting car battery’ 9 out of 10 people will come up with the above execution.
Having said that none of the above ideas is original, even ALMAPs. 15 years ago, maybe more, Simmons Palmer Denton Clemmow UK did a TV ad in which a pack of vultures were tearing apart a rusty, abandoned, rotting car. One of the birds sits on the horn and it goes off scaring the flock away. It was for long lasting batteries too and appeared before any of these ads above. That was a D&AD classic.
Aron you said that 9 out of 10 people will come up with the above execution and I agree with you on that but i also believe in the quote that says “when everyone is thinking the same then no one is thinking”. there can always be new ways to express old truths.
NB.Do you think that such an old idea expressed in the same old way deserves to be awarded in any creativity award ?
Hey I was thinking about doing an ad for long lasting headlights and using the same visual. Does that make my ad ‘more’ genuine that the others? I think not! Just because the visual looks different doesn’t make the idea genuine. If the concept is about a battery that outlasts the car, and the headlights or taillights or even the interior lights still shining, then there’s definitely a coincidence. Sam should just hang himself for his lame comments.
As Anubis says, coincidence is one thing but plagiarism is another. And these creatives have definitely been plagiarised. End of story.
Coincidence happens if two people come up with the same idea at the same time. If however that idea happens over a period of a few days, it’s still excusable. But in today’s era of technology and high-speed internet access, this is absolutely ludicrous. Because it only means that one has access to what people around the world are doing and that works as a tool to minimise coincidence or altogether eliminate it.
All said and done, if this still shows up at award festivals months later, or in this case years later, then it is simply identifiable as plagiarised work. So if Sam thinks it is shameful to talk about it, I say hell no! Let everyone involved be red-flagged and be ashamed of what he/she has done. After all, there are others who have worked hard, done genuine work that has been pushed aside to make way for this kind of crap.
Also the fact that Lou has put up the work of Saatchi in that past shows that he is dedicated to wiping out copycats. Well done I say, and keep it up!
Beta Sweater, your comments clearly show that you’re jealous of FP7. That’s all I can say.
And your comments show that you are working at FP7
Well, I’m not with FP7. I have worked with FP7 long back though. But the issue is not that anyway!
All I’m saying is please learn to be objective. That’s all.
Wasn’t this debate about plagiarism? Somehow you’ve turned it into some sort of personal vendetta against those who fight it. Odd isn’t it? Seems to me you need a rethink about ‘your’ objectivity for starters.
Great stuff Anubis. Stuff like this gives me some hope that some day people will work hard to get an award, not steal it.
i swear, only in advertising you will see people with such low morals. not only did they CHEAT, they have a whole HORDE OF WHORES writing above about how they have been ruined because some other agency got busted for lying. Are you guys for real? Do you work only for awards, and give back your salary to your company? You work for money, hope for awards, and if your work is good, some day you will get it. And this scandal is not going to ruin anyone other than those involved. If you will do this for awards, imagine what they will do with the client’s money given to them, to spend on production and media. Well, that is another story altogether.
Uncle Sam, what you are saying is, My mother was raped, but no one other than me knows my neighbour did it, so let us keep it quiet. Way to go son. Mom will be proud of you!
As for FP7, if they did not steal, nobody would have bothered to point fingers at them. Nor would Anubis have tried to pull them down to become famous. Now how is that logic for you, Uncle Sam. ( yeah, i know, i am plagiarizing myself, typed and posted some of this for DubaiLynx Rise before)
You fucking bastard gay… err… jay,
mind your words. more than anything else, what i kept insisting is look at your own ass before you say there’s something sticky in someone else’s.
it has got nothing personal.
comrades please communicate more intelligently and lets keep focused on the issue and not our ego.
I like it here….
mind your language pls, son of sam. sorry, it does not quite work the way you wish. if someone does something wrong, they are leaving themselves open for public inspection and criticism. irrespective of whether the people pointing fingers have themselves sinned or not. We are not quite into a religious discourse here, are we. We are talking business. rules apply, and those who sin are sinners. There is no rule of relativity applied here. What you are saying is, if there are a few murderers around, it gives me the right to be a murderer too.that is not what parent should teach children. look inside you, there is something called morals. right is right, and wrong is wrong. it’s got nothing to do with whats up my backside.
Well Sam from reading you I see that even the advocates of FP7 are unimaginative lazy cheaters, recycling that ancient “argument” from kindergarten…: “NO YOU!”
FP7 is racing through European ad-forums now, as a tale of caution for everyone in the business… At least your little buddies are famous now Sam.
This is Louai’s comment on Adage.com:
http://adage.com/globalnews/article?article_id=135711
“By Louai | Kuwait April 2, 2009 11:36:45 am:
It would have been nice if AdAge had followed the lead of other media vehicles and posted a link or a reference to the blog that triggered this whole story.
That would be http://www.bloganubis.com and post is http://bloganubis.com/2009/03/21/enough-is-enough/
Regards,
Louai Alasfahani”
I guess there’s a smithereen of truth in what Sam said! 😉
Someone should launch that moron, Sam, off the planet and put him into orbit without a return craft. The world will be a better place.
🙂