Coke nicks ginger's ninja
Rob Manuel, the ginger genius behind my web addiction, is unhappy. His b3ta site (read its Wikipedia description here) is required lunchtime reading for anyone tickled by creative piss-taking, mash-ups, and extreme toilet humour. According to Campaign, the site has a hit rate of 30 million per month. Some contributions to the site are breathtakingly creative; many are often politically incorrect. A lot of the satirical work that appears in its bulletin boards finds its way into newspapers and magazines, usually unacknowledged.
Mr Manuel has posted this video explaining how one of his associates' web videos has spawned a remarkably similar clone on Coke's Argentinian website without permission or reference to its origin.
Joel Veitch, a computer animator and commercials director contributed the Quiznos spongmonkeys, the Crusha kittens, and the Switch/Maestro penguins to the world of advertising. Veitch's work can be seen at Rathergood.com.
This could so easily be yet another story of how advertising has stolen ideas, unacknowledged, for its own ends (obvious refs: Honda Cog, Sony Bravia Balls). The fuss that b3ta are kicking up may indeed peter out and be quickly forgotten. There is, however, just a chance that this one could really turn around and kick Coke in the teeth. The b3ta community is web savvy, protective, imaginative, subversive and ready to cause mischief when roused.
This is the Coke link, and this is the original Veitch video with its similar animation, music and dancing.
See also: The stolen ninja - update
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5 comments:
it does seem eerily similar
On the other hand, have you ever had a great idea, then seen it somewhere or had someone else tell you the same idea? Of the millions of people on this earth, is it really inconceivable that someone would have the same idea?
In most circumstances, you might be right. However, the ethics of stealing ideas is a frequent hot topic in ad circles, so it wouldn't be surprising if this were another one of many idea-steals.
In this case, I am sure it's a rip-off because of the ad's uncanny similarity to the featured video's choreography, animation style and music.
Besides, Joel Veitch's work is immediately recognisable.
Ah yes, 25 odd years ago as a nipper I had the idea for portable e-books and a rocket car, both of which some bugger has now gone and invented. Am I bitter? Well only slightly. Since I was about ten at the time I had no concept of copyright, and since my designs were scrawled on the back of my excercise book it is just possible the other guys invented their things without referencing my groundbreaking designs. Coke on the other hand seem to just be rip-off twunts.
Well, you could be a millionaire by now if you had a decent PR adviser.
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