The Headline says : Shout with a whisper and the body copy says "They say old money whispers, while new money shouts. Make your point with our solitaires collection. Bhima, for those who know better."
his was blogged and uploaded into my portfolio in .http://vinodnatesansportfolio.blogspot.com/2008/04/2002-2005-mayan-consultants.html
Going by web analytic data, the blog has been viewed by almost 9700 people. It was also uploaded on the afaqs creative showcase almost a year ago and has been viewed by more than 195 people.
BHIMA JEWELLERS SOLITAIRE DIAMOND DONE BY MAYAN CONSULTANTS- VINOD NATESAN
I was therefore shocked to see an ad last week for Skoda Fabia done by Saints and Warriors titled "Style shouts, pedigree whispers' which seems to be quite similar in intent and approach to the ad that I had done in 2002 for Bhima Jewellers. It then talks about lineage in the body copy. The advertisement that appeared in the Economic Times of 15th October 2010 for the brand Skoda Fabia. This has the key number of Saints and Warriors (SAW/SKODA956-10).
While I do admit that creative coincidences are unavoidable and this one seems to be "inspired" and almost "imitated",there is possibly a second opinion also, that even if inspired, it is an adaptation and therefore acceptable. I frankly don't know. I guess the jury is out on this one.
Anyway, as far as aggrieved parties go, I don't seem to be in a club of one. A writer overseas also is in this august group and in her case, the accused is the editor of one of the most respected weeklies in India :)
http://www.slate.com/id/2271859/?from=rss&ref=nf
Some interesting comments have started comming in. This link is dedicated to plagiarism or copy cat advertising:)
http://bloganubis.com/category/copy-cat-ads/
DECEMBER 5TH 2010 - UPDATE
Post this blog and social media posts, Saints and Warriors have changed the Skoda advertising. We salute the gesture and are grateful to Pushpinder Singh for making the effort and doing the right thing.
creative-coincidence-or-plagiarism Skoda Fabia Revised ad
2 comments:
A lot depends on whether the original phrase comes from a saying, or idiom, that was re-crafted. If not, it is a clear case of a good piece of copy remaining in someone's head - ergo, plagiarism, perhaps subconscious as well. Ah, well, imitation is the best form of flattery!
If it was for a product that is in no way affiliated with the "muse Product" then I see no harm. They just borrowed an effective tag line and re-purposed it for their very different product. I say,"Inspired".
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