Where ideas end and direct appropriation starts.

A creative partner who I work with often quotes Einstein. “The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources”

Unfortunately recently a lot of ads have come out shamelessly displaying theirs. In essence their source IS the idea.

Honda has come out with a marshmallow super bowl remake of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with Matthew Broderick. Before you can say sellout, maybe the ad rises to the occasion. Watched the ad now. No it doesn’t. Talking to camera, car porn, and lame jokes. It takes all the worst parts of a classic 80s film and blends them. Good job team!

Perhaps the worst perpetrator of just grabbing a movie and skull fucking it is the Star Wars phenomenon. Struggling for an idea? Use Star Wars. Some seem to pull this off better than others. The Bark Side from VW with dogs barking Star Wars music is entertaining:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ntDYjS0Y3w

But others such as using Yoda (complete with lame reprise jokes) for Vodafone UK just tells me either the creatives or suits just aren’t trying. The money went I tell on licensing, not creative, I can.

But wait. There’s more. Thanks Currys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXcoIN6tqXY

Raping movies and just sticking a logo on the end isn’t a new phenomena. And sometimes they do it well. Carling’s Black Label take on The Dam Busters makes for a fun view and an unpredictable end.

It takes the movie as reference and then pushes it further, rather than just recreating the scene as a direct pastiche. I guess that’s the different between a photocopier and genius. And at the moment we’ve got some photocopier creatives glowing red hot at the mo.

What next in the borrowed interest bag of tricks? Clockwork Orange for Robinsons? I can’t wait.

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