meish dot org: life, unfolding

Icon

This is a blog by Meg Pickard. YMMV.
Hit the duck to be whisked to a random post

All photos » Someone call the trademark infringement team! How many patterns can one infant wear? High   We went for a long walk. Well, I did the walking; Erin mainly looked after the napping end of things We both need a nap Un entente cordial Work in progress I misread this: interchanged 'monk' and 'child' When you're only a few weeks old, space monkeys on a play gym arch are quite awesome Did my duty. Bit gloomy about the prospective results though, frankly. 8 weeks old, to the minute 

Here it goes again

Speaking, as we were not so long ago, about unreferenced advertising homages to internet viral creative endeavours….here’s another one for the collection.

First, watch this new ad from Berocca.

People dancing on treadmills.

Strangely familiar? Indeed. OK Go did this to great viral effect not so long ago:

I know. Ad creatives in ripping off internet shocker.

<rolls eyes>

Bookmark and Share

Category: Media & Advertising, Video, Web, fmp

Tagged:

12 Responses

  1. Rhys says:

    And yet, you linked to it and blogged about it, so chances are if a number of people did that then I guess this advert would do quite well :)

  2. Meg says:

    Fair point. OK, in case anyone thinks this is an ad for Berocca, let me categorically state that I think that plagiarism is pathetic, and besides, Berocca tastes like hippo taint.

  3. Cliff says:

    Fuck it. I think Meg’s right here. Yes, the campaign got a mention, but whether the people at Berocca think they paid good money for a novel idea, or they thought they’d get away with it, then they should totally hear people like us saying: “Berocca either got ripped off by commissioning an unimaginative campaign, or they are thieves.”

  4. Rhys says:

    I agree. I do think it did completely rip off the Ok Go video, and hopefully there will be enough of an internet backlash to make it a dismal failure.

    I just feel the viral company think that there’s enough users out there that haven’t seen the original to make it a success. Hence why I believe they did it.

    Sucks, I know.

  5. Adrian says:

    A complete rip off. Except the Becorca video looks lame.

    They’ve chopped a few bits out of the OK Go video, but a bit like gold spray paint, it’s not quite gold. It’s like the OK video but without the soul, without the funky factor, or whatever it was that drove it viral. Which is why you normally can’t “make something go viral” and especially not by copying something.

    Now had the Cadbury’s Gorilla done the treadmill dance ….

  6. Mr Angry says:

    I saw that advert and thought much the same.

    I often wonder though, having never worked in advertising, whether Berocca themselves would have been complicit in the thievery? Or would they be completely oblivious to their creative agency’s plagiarism?

    Is there a suit at Berocca (I imagine it to be orange) currently talking to lawyers about suing their agency?

  7. Dan says:

    Saw this a couple of days ago and my reaction was much the same. Boo to Berocca. Boorocca.

  8. ping says:

    the plagiarism is the point… it’s a good idea (the treadmills obv) and all the agency and Berocca are doing is nodding their head to their target audience (which I imagine are young, clubbers, internet users and not entirely stupid) that they recognise OK Go’s idea and appreciate it. It’s a parody… a self-aware parody. You know, for people who have a sense of humour (albeit a shit one)

  9. ping says:

    I would hasten to add that it is a rubbish advert – it’s simply badly done; but I don’t think its a case of execs thinking that ‘no-one will notice’.. it’s just a piss-poor execution is all.

  10. Megan says:

    I’m clearly bucking the trend here, but I think it’s an homage. The original video was seen by so many people, it would be stupid to try to rip it off so blatantly (even with many of the same moves). I think it’s a nod to the original.

    Now, I’m not saying it’s a GREAT ad. It’s not.

  11. ping says:

    Thats the word I meant: ‘homage’
    Not parody, but homage. Thanks Megan.

  12. Ambrosiality says:

    smh then again, think of Axe & Tag! tsk tsk

By way of explanation…

This is an individual post, which may not be very recent. For the latest stuff on meish dot org, please visit the main page.

By the way, I'm female. It doesn't have much impact on what I write about, or how I write, but I thought I'd point it out because so many people who link to this site seem to assume I'm male.

The clue's in the name: Meg. Like all those other female Megs.

Categories

What’s all this, then?

This is a personal site, created and curated continuously since early 2000 by Meg Pickard, a creative geek, passionate photographer, anthropologist and web experience /community /social media specialist, who works for The Guardian & lives in London, UK.
 
The site includes a blog - a personal and evolving collection of links, opinions, thoughts, ideas, anecdotes and musings - as well as a variety of other projects. It is also a place to aggregate some of the author's distributed web activity, like photos, links and music.
 
More info about this site and its author.

Important note #1

This is a personal site. The contents and opinions contained within don't necessarily reflect those of my employer, family, or cat. They think for themselves (though mostly about tuna, in at least one case), and so do I.

Important note #2

Since the overwhelming majority of content on this site is historical, it should be regarded in light of the context in which it was originally published, and not as indicative or revealing of current perspectives, preferences or experience.

Important note #3

While I work and spend a lot of time thinking and talking about social media, participatory technologies and community development strategies, the vast majority of content on this site is not about that.

This personal site isn't about anything, except the perpetual unfolding of one person's experience, and the perspectives, observations and opinions that involves and inspires.

You still here?

Oh.