Here's a dirty truth about advertising creatives: They're scared of simple.
Why? Not because simplicity isn't effective, but rather because it's so effective, every "obvious" idea feels like it's been done before.
Heck, maybe it has. And that's OK.
Advertising has a long (and, to me, infuriating) tradition of crapping on ideas that feel reminiscent of any work that's come before it.
I get it, and none of us wants to see campaign ideas copied and pasted without credit. But come on, you really think you shouldn't run that brilliant idea for a California supermarket just because your CD saw something similar in a Communication Arts annual 13 years ago?
All of which is to say I love Wieden+Kennedy Portland's new spot for Fisher-Price, and I don't have any proof handy to argue that the concept—that kids see toys where we see everyday objects—has been done before. But I'm guessing it has. And I don't care.
Let's just embrace simple, fun, well-executed ideas and enjoy them for accomplishing what they set out to do. Let's stop using decades-old D&AD winners as excuses not to play with metaphors.
Like W+K's new ad wants us to do, let's just have some fun and stop being such boring, predictable adults.
What's your take on the "gotcha" mentality of accusing campaigns of stealing from something that came before them? Do you see it as a vital form of accountability, or just exhausting gatekeeping?
Let me know at the email below or at @Griner on Twitter.
David Griner
International Editor, Adweek
[email protected]
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