Wieden's Neil Christie smells another rip-off
Neil Christie, managing director of Wieden + Kennedy in London, is a hawk for any advertising that resembles anything his agency has done. Nine months ago, he dug up a Singapore ad that had a bread-making sequence he found eerily similar to some food porn that Wieden did in the Middle East. Needless to say, many dismissed Christie as a crank. He's undeterred. Today, he's putting the ripoff label on a print ad for Sure deodorant that shows a cricket player pointing his bat at the viewer with the tagline, "Not without a fight." As it happens, Wieden used the same line a year ago in a Nike ad featuring English rugby players looking rather menacing on the cliffs of Dover. It's anybody's guess whether the Unilever brand knowingly ripped off Wieden or some creatives simply subconsciously absorbed the image and message (that is the point of advertising, yes?). But Christie does seem to have a better case this time around. |
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July 16, 2009 in Controversy, Morrissey, Nike, Wieden + Kennedy | Permalink |
Comments
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shorts that make you seem fast?
shirts that make you seem fast?
don't neil calling out anyone on that one.
so i guess the rule is that it is okay to steal, and accuse others of stealing at the same time.
bing came back with: hypocritical
Posted by: ha | Jul 16, 2009 12:08:38 PM
Because the phrase
"not without a fight"
has never been used before... ever.
If you did a little research, you could probably find a billion ads that use the same tagline... which has been ripped from popular culture and literature.
Posted by: Joelskool | Jul 16, 2009 12:59:40 PM
Obviously 'not without a fight' is a well-known phrase, not coined by W+K or Nike. But it's funny that another brand, seeking to associate itself with an English sporting team, within a few months of a previous campaign, would do something so similar. (Of course, it's less relevant for the cricket ad because Australia has never invaded England.) It must be just an embarrassing coincidence because surely Sure's agency wouldn't do this knowingly.
Posted by: neil christie | Jul 17, 2009 6:11:56 AM
Wieden rules! No way someone at some other "AD AGENCY" could come up with the same thing as us without stealing it!
Posted by: WK/12 | Jul 17, 2009 2:00:09 PM
Neil, maybe the problem is that the Nike ad was so unremarkable that nobody remembered it?
Just a thought...
Posted by: TunaTacoGrande | Jul 17, 2009 2:15:52 PM
Yeah, that must be it.
Posted by: neil christie | Jul 17, 2009 2:42:29 PM
Neil. Let me introduce a widely known concept called "parallel development." You feed the same set of facts and parameters to different people, you often will see similar results. That's why throughout history, scientists and philosophers have created breakthroughs and work that are similar to each other only days or months apart without knowing it.
So Neil, stop it. You just look like an ass. Because, to be honest, the first ad is not that original. And "Not without a fight" is not your tone, it's a platitude only heard thousands of times before. In fact, it's the name of New Found Glory's latest album. Make sure to write them a terse note full stealing Nike's platitudes.
Posted by: thatguy | Jul 18, 2009 7:38:02 AM
Thanks for introducing this widely known concept. Familiarity with it has spread as far as the UK. I believe Brian Eno coined the term 'scenius' to describe the way it applies to the music scene - though I doubt if he was referring to the work of New Found Glory. I don't think I need to contact New Found Glory unless they start producing ads sponsoring English national sports teams with the line on. (Or am I missing something here?) As I said above and in my original post, I'm sure the Sure ad is a coincidence, as no agency would knowingly copy from such a close competitor. Not a big deal. No accusation of plagiarism.
Posted by: neil christie | Jul 24, 2009 9:57:03 AM
