It's A Steal!

Who was it that said: "Talent imitates, genius steals"?

Advertising has always nodded to the various aspects of the culture it finds itself in. It'd be strange if it didn't. But it's a very thick line between invoking the zeitgeist and just ripping off other people's ideas. As has been the case with two very recent TV commercials: Sugar Puffs' 'homage' to The Mighty Boosh, and Berocca's cribbing of OK Go's Here It Goes Again video.

The problem perhaps isn't so much that they've stolen ideas, it's that they've done it so badly and so shamelessly. Both examples are very poor imitations of the originals. It's almost as if the 'creatives' behind the ads are telegraphing their utter contempt not only for the orginal works but also for their own industry. It's lazy, uninspired and does absolutely nothing for the companies advertising or for the marketing industry as whole. No wonder so many people regard advertising as a somewhat ignoble profession, full of charlatans and thieves.

Anyway, here are the ads - preceded by their sources.

The Mighty Boosh - Soup


Sugar Puffs


OK Go - Here It Goes Again


Berocca