Did Motorola rip off a Talking Heads song?

Talking Heads: Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, David Byrne and Jerry Harrison (via Slate)

It's always a hard call when advertisers decide to use "original" music in an ad that is heavily evocative of an established song.

Listen to this ad, and make note of any classic songs that come to mind:

Qu'est-ce que c'est?

Yeah, me too. But is it plagiarism? That's for lawyers to decide.

From inside the ad agency world, I can tell you exactly how this went down. Creative teams often draw inspiration from songs they like. The ones with very healthy budgets, and willing rock stars, may actually get the chance to licence that song. But that's the exception.

Often, the song even gets used in the creative presentation, or in the case of a TV ad, it might be used to score the animatic. (A moving storyboard, used in pre-production.) Even early edits may have that song in them, just to help with pacing and tone.

But if the song is, ultimately, unattainable, the team eventually needs to brief a commercial composer. These briefings often include "something like [name of song or artist]" or the song itself may be used as an example in the briefing. This is normal.

For example, when we were doing a government of Canada ad a few years ago, I briefed the composer using Arcade Fire videos. However, I didn't say "make it sound like Arcade Fire," or "Make it sound like 'The Suburbs' or 'We Used to Wait'," I told told him I wanted "a contemporary alt-rock sound that will appeal to 20-somethings but still be appropriate for a government job training ad." The result was just what we wanted, but it was its own thing.

Even emulating a distinctive style can be problematic. In 1992, Tom Waits sued Frito-Lay for hiring a singer who sounded like him for an ad. He was awarded more than two million dollars.

The Motorola case is a little less open and shut. But it did catch the attention of Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club drummer Chris Frantz. Chris is married to Bassist Tina Weymouth, who wrote the bassline that the ad music partially emulates.

Chris asked his Facebook network, "My friends, if you have a moment, please click on this link and scroll down to "Play Video." Play the video and please tell me your thoughts. Thanks."

The verdict by friends and fans was that they didn't just hear "Psycho Killer" in the ad, but also Tom Tom Club's hit "Wordy Rappinghood."

Some felt it was a stretch. But at a time when Sam Smith willing pays Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne for "accidentally" lifting the structure of a hit song, or Robin Thicke and Pharrel try to pre-emptively sue the family of the artist they were "inspired" by, these are high-stakes issues.

What do you think?

A week without advertising

I just got back from a week in Cuba. For Americans and others who have never visited, apart from the Communist dictatorship and the old cars, it's not that weird a place. People are friendly, tourist areas are well-developed, and they are very slowly starting to evolve into a more entrepreneurial economy.

However, for someone who spends the majority of his waking hours creating advertising and consuming social media, there were two major media differences between my world and theirs:

• Almost no commercial advertising, with the exception of nationally-owned brands; and
• Very limited access to wifi or any internet

Cubans are not officially allowed private internet access, to allow the regime to control what news they get from the outside world. They can access at specific public (presumably monitored) areas, and their mobile phones are voice and text only.

My hotel had wifi available in the lobby for a fee, and I could have roamed on a foreign data network, but it seemed like a good opportunity to put myself on a modern media fast. And man! Was that ever refreshing.

I have a reputation for being addicted to Facebook and Twitter, so when I came back home people were surprised that I didn't feel any withdrawal whatsoever. I'm glad I have access to digital media at home, but a short vacation from the 24-hour news cycle and the constant international networking opportunities did wonders for my state-of-mind.

The saddest thing I saw, at our resort, was Canadian and European teenagers hanging out in the lobby to keep their smartphones connected to their peers. They were right beside the finest beach in the Caribbean, surrounded by one of the world's most interesting national cultures, and they couldn't live without knowing what Becky said about Madison today. Their loss.

We even avoided turning on our hotel TV, with its international cable channels, so I literally did not see a private-sector ad all week. Every poster, every billboard, and even every graffiti in Varadero, Matanzas, and Havana was part of the government propaganda machine (see above). But even those communications were few and far between.

Even business signs (this one for Hemingway's hideout in Old Havana) are subtle.

It wasn't until I was stuck in the endless bureaucratic lineups to leave Varadero airport that I spotted what I recognized as advertising, albeit government-owned. And that's just because this Cuban tourism campaign runs in Canada all winter:

Advertising has been my livelihood for 25 years, so I certainly appreciate the industry. But what an interesting experience to be cut off from media saturation, even for a week. It really gives you a sense of perspective.

As Cuba-US relations begin to thaw, I hope my American friends will get a chance to see this country, with its oppressive government but irrepressible culture. Maybe they'll even find a way to somehow embrace democracy and a little capitalism without turning themselves into overstimulated media junkies.

TD Bank features same-sex couples in "mainstream" ads

The ad above was shared by my favourite Sicilian-Canadian reader, Jackie Di Caro. It appears in the Toronto Star.

Looking for background, I found that the "lifestyle" section of TD's web site also features a video with two men on the page about "becoming a couple".

What's cool about this isn't the fact that a major brand is targeting gay consumers. With their stereotyped double-income-no-kids lifestyle, committed same-sex couples are a marketer's dream. But instead of running a niche campaign in "gay" media, TD is simply adding same-sex couples to the rotation of its depictions of families. And it's not even a recent development. TD has  participated in, and sponsored, Pride parades for several years. The bank recently produced its own had-hitting It Gets Better video. And it walks the walk — it is recognized as one of "The Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality".

Via This Gay Relationship

What will all this gay-positiveness do to one of Canada's largest banks, and to society as a whole?

From a 2011 post in the blog "This Gay Relationship":

...if TD doesn't stop presenting all of these positive images in their newspaper ads, I might just get the idea being a gay male couple is as normal and natural in Canada in 2011 as has been the case for straight couples since the beginning of time (or at least since TD began advertising in big city newspapers). I'm not sure what would happen if the general population started to get that idea. Who knows where that could lead us. 

This is all awesome, from a progressiveness point-of-view, but it is also a great example of how traditional organizations are adapting to a changing social climate. In 2012, TD reported it had $1.6 billion of net income in the fourth quarter, bringing the total for year ended Oct. 31 to $6.47 billion.

Is advertising clutter getting worse?

Or are the media just getting more diverse? Whenever this topic comes up, I bring up how cluttered with ads the physical urban environment of a century past was. In the days before electronic media, but after the emergence of commercial brands, there was a time when every square foot of public space seemed like a potential ad medium.

These Retronaut photos of NYC's Times Square, circa 1900, are a good example of that.

New Adbusters ad: "Advertising is brain damage"

No argument from this adman. Whoever was responsible for that typography certainly was cerebrally compromised.

WWJD? He'd get branding advice from McCann!

When I was writing a post for Osocio this morning, about a campaign for Reporters Without Borders, I briefly visited the McCann, Germany, site to see if there was a version in original language. Instead, I was treated to a rather ballsy image show that portrayed the account team advising Jesus on his brand symbolism.

It's a very funny in-joke for admen, the client picking the entirely wrong approach, while the agency folk desperately try to steer him in the recommended direction. (To take it too literally, though, why would they even have shown him the square and the circles? And isn't he choosing the instrument of his death?)

Put this one down to European humour. Hopefully, offended Christians won't react as violently as some of their Muslim brethren have to recent religious ridicule.

The other image in the series features Fidel Castro and his iconic cigar:

Ironically, the Cuban leader stopped smoking them in the 1980s, due to health. And he actually enacted some pretty strong smoking bans in Cuba before his retirement. But I get what they're saying.

This is edgy stuff, and the over-the-top arrogance plays as a gag. But does it make good business sense for the global advertising brand? I guess we'll see.

Update: Adland's Åsk Wäppling informs me that this stunt is actually eight years old. I guess they still like it.

Is Skittles pushing the Walrusexual Agenda?

John Nolte, a blogger at Breitbart, seems to believe so.



In his angry rant about the goofy ad, "Wrigley Co. Uses Bestiality to Sell Skittles," he fumes:

You can laugh and say it's just a joke, but through a war of inches, Hollywood continues its assault to define deviancy down and to normalize destructive behavior. Humor is an excellent way to get us used to and to take the shock value out of something hideous and immoral. 

He's kidding, right? I wish!

If you don't think there's an agenda behind this, you haven't been paying attention the last 40 years. And if you don't think that there are those who hold the levers of power in our popular culture that would like to remove the stigma from bestiality, you don't understand the depths of sexual depravity the human animal is capable of.   

I used to laugh at loud at the term "slippery slope." 

Then I grew up.

Remind you of anyone? Santorum? Anyone?

In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing. And when you destroy that you have a dramatic impact on the quality.

Finally, Mr. Nolte reminds us that this is all the fault of feminism:

But I am at least old enough to remember when our culture wanted to protect a woman's dignity, not degrade women under the guise of "liberation" and "equality." 

Oh yeah, baby, you've come a real long way. 

Wow.

Mexican politician channels FEMEN on campaign billboard

According to Jezebel, Natalia Juarez is a 34-year-old philosophy professor running for Congress as a member of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution.  The headline reads, "I dare you to build a new project for a nation with no prejudices." The other women are also PDR candidates.

Jezebel's Erin Gloria Ryan is a little cynical about the use of "boobies" to get attention, but I applaud any effort in which women take back ownership of their bodies by using our primal fascination to deliver messages of solidarity for social change.

Here's another one of her party's ads, via The Greenwich Diva:

""It's better for one thousand of us to take a step forward than for one leader to take one thousand steps for us."

Ms. Juarez told CNN, "Society is lethargic. We don't seem to be aware of our role. We need to get energized. We need to tell people, 'Hey, wake up because if you don't, sharks are going to eat you up. Wake up, you citizen and politician'" 

Mexico will hold presidential and congressional elections on July 1.

"Depressed Copywriter" is actually hilarious

It's a new advertising Tumblr. And some of the posts are depressingly funny:

It's like he or she is posting from inside every burnt out Copywriter's poundingly hung over mind.

Check out the whole psychological mess here.

Via Copyranter

More faux-retro ads than you can shake a martini at

To celebrate the long-awaited return of Mad Men this Sunday, Newsweek yesterday launched a special issue with a retro design.

The best part, for many lucky modern admen and adwomen, was the invitation to submit special '60s-style ads for the occasion.

Some are better than others. All must have been so much fun to do.

Totally classic.

Great integration with current campaign.

Maybe a little too authentic.

I don't quite buy it. The models are all wrong.

Retro design done right.

Looks like 1990s faux vintage.

Cute.

The photo treatment could have been more authentic.

Dig the long copy.

Nicely done, with the Lyndon Johnson reference.

Too obvious for me.

Pretty authentic, but boring.

In the spirit, without being too silly.

Meh.

Captures our idea of the time.

A true classic.

The SPAM must have gone bad to make that happen.

Much better trippy design.

Cool.

Nice self-parody of their campaign.

What do you think?

All ad visuals via Fast To Create.

I'm sorry, but Banksy's ad rant is tiresome

My brother David shared this from This Isn't Happiness:

You can also see the text better here.

I can understand why people feel imposed upon by outdoor advertising, but it is hardly something new. Look at the sides of old buildings — in the late 1800s and early 1900s, advertisers posted their message on anything that didn't move.

Like many other modern consumers, I've learned to tune out the majority of advertising messages hurled at me from every corner, broadcast, and electronic interaction I happen upon. As an adman, I count on this numbness as I try to find new ways to get attention, gain permission, and inspire sharing among more sophisticated audiences.

But this anti-capitalism, anger and anarchy is tiresome to me. An ad is not "a rock someone just threw at your head" — in most cases it is just another piece of banal visual pollution in the urban environment. Somebody paid somebody else to create a message, then paid yet someone else to post it on their property. It's all within the law, as long as they follow guidelines for hate speech, etc.

If you want to see better standards for advertising, you need to take a more active role as a consumer — organizing to reward brands that contribute something positive to your life, and shutting out the ones that irk you. It sounds idealistic, but it's all we've got. That's why I spend so much time deconstructing and trashing what I see as irresponsible advertising on this blog. I think and expect that our industry can do much better.

You could also lobby local politicians to reduce the number of ad placement opportunities on public land. We already have that here in Ottawa. But I actually miss seeing some of the more interesting billboards that go up in Montreal and Toronto.

Revolutionaries are a necessary part of social change. And I know that offensive ads can and will get vandalized by Adbusters and their ilk (and sometimes I find it extremely funny!)

But there is a difference between taking an action that is civilly disobedient, being prepared for the legal consequences if you are caught, and claiming a moral right or even imperative to do so. The former is revolutionary. The latter, in my humble opinion, is just deluded and arrogant.

I still enjoy his art, though. As long as it's not on the side of my house.

Real-life ad blockers strike Stockholm subway

A Swedish activist group posted this video of their shenanigans in the Stockholm subway, removing all ads from a train car and a station.



While I can appreciate a good civil disobedience, and I agree it's nice to have a little break from ad overload, the stunt is pretty obnoxious to anyone involved in public transit.

The group is quoted in Animal NY:

“Public transport is nothing you can compromise about. It is a vital part of the urban nervous system and is a public matter, a premise for the city’s economical and social life to function. The fact that public transport is too expensive is both a structural issue as well as a reality for individual people. It is not fair that a millionaire and an unemployed person has to pay as much for public transport. With tax-paid, fare-free, public transport everyone pays according to how much they can pay.”

I would love for buses, trains, etc. to be able to be fare- and ad-free too. That would be awesome. Seriously. But if even a country like Sweden has to supplement taxpayer funding by collecting fare and selling ad space, you can be pretty sure that is not happening in any capitalist country anytime soon.

I get it. They're anarchists. Me, I just want to be able to take the bus to work. And as a rider, I have a feeling any social action that costs the transit system revenue is going to end up coming out of my pocket.

But hey, have fun sticking it to all the wrong people.

And is this not also an ad?

How would ad agencies prefer to depict women's body issues?

Copyranter shared a link about a challenge South Africa's Marie Claire put out to agencies there:

"We asked six advertising agencies to design posters that challenge our perceptions on what the perfect body is. Would any of  these campaigns alter the way you feel about your body? ‘We don’t all have the same body type but, regardless of this, we are all perfect. So, what is it going to take for you to love your body?’ says ed Aspasia Karras. What are your thoughts on the various campaigns?"

Here are mine:

This one by Jupiter Drawing Room is pretty good.

This other one by Jupiter seems a little weak.

TBWA's seems like I've seen it on a T-shirt or video a poster or something

Jesus, TBWA. Come up with something new already.

Not bad, Canvas Lifestyle. Not groundbreaking, but at least it tells a story.
(Fun fact: I did not know Barbie had pink permapanties)

Cool one from King James RSVP. Very Dovesque, but I like the copy.

Morbid and uncalled for, M&C Saatchi

Ogilvy, meanwhile, let a Client Services intern write and design their entry.

Which ones do you like? Which ones do you hate? And has any of these agencies come up with a new insight?