Turns out to be a good week for work. Here's an impressive online game full of wit and style from a partnership between North Kingdom and Goodby Silverstein and Partners. I love the attention to detail and the depth of the experience. This was obviously put together by people who cared. Full credit should go to the California Milk Processing Board for stumping up the cash.
I don't know much about Nine Inch Nails. I know I don't like their music. I know I love their marketing skills.
To launch their new album, Year Zero, they included URL clues on their tour t-shirts which lead fans to websites that described an apocalyptic vision of the US. Memory sticks were found in toilets with tracks on them. Samples of tracks were played on radio stations unannounced in the wee small hours. Telephone numbers appeared on fan sites. All very clandestine, all very brilliant. All very I love Bees.
I wish I'd done it.
Advertising creatives have an odd rule when it comes to plagiarism. I think it says a lot about the ingrained arrogance of the industry that you can copy any film, art or photographic style, comedian's routine, in fact anyone or anything, as long as you don't copy an ad.
I have heard it said countless of times, 'Great ad, pity it's been done', usually followed by the agency name and year of creation, as the all-knowing CD goes over to his D&AD annuals and finds it for you. Proof, as if proof were needed of his greatness when it comes to the history of ads.
The t-shirt industry obviously don't share this obsession.
Howies original
Mr Cloud's T-shirt Emporium rip-off
Seeing this made me angry. I now don't like Mr Cloud. Why? Because they're lazy and stupid and spend all their time surfing other t-shirt sites looking for the easy way to a good idea.
But the thing is I actually don't know who was first, I based my assumption on the fact Howies is an old friend (known for it's integrity), while Mr Cloud is a new acquaintance, regardless of whether I'm right or wrong. In fact I'd probably take this position even if I found this t-shirt design on some kid's MySpace page.
Okay, what I know of Howies and what I can gleam from Mr Cloud's website would suggest I'm probably right, but I don't know for sure, maybe Howies just improved on the design.
In a world where we are all now meant to be creating content and posting and uploading and plagiarising and inspiring one another, this is going to create a whole new level of problems for brands and their agencies.
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