Déjà vu?!

Ever see an ad or hear a concept and think "Hey, that was MY idea!"? It's frustrating, but it happens all the time. Even though people are uniquely creative and their minds have been carved from diverse experiences, it's bound to happen. After all, people go through the same brainstorming sessions, and everyone tries to fight the clutter and define unique brand benefits. This is happening in our Vanity project: what sets Vanity apart from other stores? After all, it's just clothes. For State Farm: What makes State Farm different from other auto insurers? Everyone has to have insurance anyways, it's all the same thing! Good advertisers try to be provocative and resonate with the customers. The best way to relate to customers is to identify the REAL reason why they chose a brand, the REAL needs they have, which aren't always obvious. I remember during one of the Whipple presentations, we had to create an ad for nail polish. What's the big difference between nail polish brands? They're all the same. So how to you attract people to your brand or even get their attention for a few seconds before they flip past your ad? Think of another benefit. My group thought of the "Better Nails, better Tales", which I thought was kind of funny. So when I saw this ad for erectile disfunction, I yelled "THAT WAS OUR IDEA!!". They stole it from us. They definitely had a spy in our creative strategy class, and stole our idea. Not really - but seeing such a similar concept actually be thought up by someone else and implemented makes me feel proud of our humble idea.

[If you can't read the copy, it says "Medicine for erectile disfunction with a special discount"]