After Apple unveiled the new video-capable iPod, it also took the wraps off the latest commercial created by TBWA/Chiat/Day, the company’s longtime ad agency. Unfortunately, the striking spot, which features rap artist Eminem, is very similar to an ad created three years ago to sell Lugz boots, according to industry watchers.
New York Times reporter Stuart Elliott quoted from a statement issued by TBWA/Chiat/Day, which said the similarity in the ad’s look was “disappointing and surprising” as well as “regrettable.” Mr. Elliott pointed out: “Both commercials show shadowlike silhouettes posed against stylized urban settings, which are rendered in red, orange, yellow and black.” The silhouette is Eminem in the Apple ad, while the Lugz boots commercial features an anonymous man.
The earlier ad was created by Avrett Free Ginsberg, whose CEO, Frank Ginsberg, wrote in a letter to TBWA/Chiat/Day: “It is often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and in most cases I would agree. But sometimes, imitation crosses the line.” His letter was shared with reporters.
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Mr. Elliott spoke with Mr. Ginsberg, who said he was “shocked” by it, noting: “It’s the same commercial. I don’t get it.” Larry Schwartz, an executive vice-president at Lugz, added: “We’re very upset. We think very highly of Apple. We don’t understand how this could have happened.”
While the Lugz boots ad stopped airing in 2002, it is available on the Web site of Psyop, the production company that worked on it, and it was nominated for a British advertising award in 2003. “That suggests it may be familiar to at least some creative employees in the industry,” Mr. Elliott wrote.
Apple declined to elaborate on TBWA/Chiat/Day’s statement. Mr. Elliott pointed out that clients typically own the commercials created for them, which means Apple and Lugz own their respective ads. Mr. Schwartz indicated that his company will “take all the steps we need to protect our rights.”
Mr. Elliott’s article also delves into the history of similar ads and how such situations are usually handled.