I try to avoid rants railing on work that’s out there, but this one particularly rubbed me the wrong way. I would vote for the following story as one of the best, most charming stories from last year.
And then the other day I caught this on the tube:
Sometimes I like to imagine the meetings behind the work, but my brain can’t process the conversation in which someone says “Let’s take out the kids and replace them with three yuppy douchebags in an SUV. And let’s pretend they did this all with points from their credit card.”
It’s one thing to be topical and relevant. It’s quite another to blatantly rip off a cool story and repurpose it for lameness. On top of that, this Citibank campaign is supposed to be about true stories. Fail. And they act like they want a genuine conversation, inviting you to share your stories, yet when I try to post a comment on youtube, it requires approval from Citibank. I’m still awaiting approval of my comment.
Should I be shocked by any of this? Hardly. But I think there is a real lesson in the difference between real reality and lame commercial reality.
MAKIN' ADS 
It's not as egregious as your example, Jim, but check these out. The ad got a lot of backlash from the skating community. Maybe skaters weren't the target audience, and maybe that's what the ripper-offers were counting on.
ORIGINAL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN_r9joWNXQ&NR=1
RIP-OFF:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFifAP0TeQ4
Notice the disparity in number of views.
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Jim, I don't even know how creative teams and agencies sell these kind of rip-offs? Not only did they steal all the wonder out of the original idea, they tried to tell its story in too little time. Their Citibank version is just confusing and flat. I guess the good news is that I'm left with the appropriate branding for Citibank – They're bankers who steal and mess things up. You don't have to ever remind me again not to do business with them.
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well put.
I would be embarrassed to put my name on such a blatant rip off.
Greg's example is right on as well. A bad rip off and a bad spot. “Feel the Bubbles!” eck.
Advertising is despised by some for the very fact that it does rob culture.. exploit it and destroy it. It's one thing to comment on culture in a relevant way.. it's another thing to rape it.
fight the good fight.
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