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Whatever happened to originality? Why is there suddenly no creativity left amongst the ‘biggest and brightest’ in our industries and why do companies think they can get away with stealing ideas and concepts? It’s not happening all over the world but very few countries including Pakistan. In the past couple of other companies in Pakistan have committed plagiarism, if this is the right word, but things should have changed. But our creative gurus did not try to put a little effort to create something simple, fresh and comprehensive. This is something very similar to our film industry where ideas and executions have also died long ago.
I was astonished to watch the new Telenor Easy Paisa commercial on the television the other day. It is unbelievable that a company of Telenor’s stature thinks that they can pinch the concept of a huge TVC and no one will point it out. Unfortunately some people have seen the HTC Corporation advert Telenor stole from.
HTC Corporation, the High Tech Computer Corporation, certainly won’t lodge a complaint – who would they complain to after all? Many people in Pakistan have not heard of the Taiwan-based manufacturer of smartphones although some in the telecommunications industry certainly have.
It bothers me that there is such a dearth of creativity in our advertising industry but what is worse is that Telenor did not demand originality of concept and approved such a blatant copy of the HTC commercial without a thought spared for ethical concerns. I am sure there are so many intelligent people working for Telenor and the agency as well but what happened this time is out of comprehension. People did like many of their past ads due to their excellent execution. But this one is different.
Ethics in the advertising industry seem to be dying a rapid death as large companies with millions of rupees to spend encourage stealing ideas that have worked instead of coming up with new concepts themselves. The tragedy is that as this approach of ‘stealing ideas’ for creative output becomes more rampant, the audience is also becoming savvier. We know how to search the internet and most of the most popular advertisements worldwide find themselves on our facebook pages. Perhaps it’s time to send a message to companies like Telenor stating categorically that we are not fools and we know when they have stolen a campaign idea.
Stealing certainly pays off in the short run but when you use an idea that is already out there – we will find out and it does offend us that you are unethical!
See the ads
Essay plagiarism checker
I think it is shocking to say the least. Companies like Telenor while to blame for accepting such promotions should also look at their selected advertising agencies closely. Personally speaking if I was a multinational and my agency promoted such an idea to me, I would fire them on the spot. The sad truth however is that companies and agencies are taking short cuts wherever they can. Heading an advertising agency, I can state is not an easy job, but in all my years of advertising we have ensured that we do not copy ideas so blatantly as have been done by others. Its one thing to see an great concept, appreciate it and then creatively adapt a theme from that locally. What telenor and countless other Pakistani brands are doing is straight plagiarism. It is copy right infringement and its below the belt. I am the first to admit that sometimes its hard to be original, but thats what creativity is. Creativity in Pakistan as seen by telenor and its associated agencies is apparently surfing the internet looking for cool or creative ideas and then simply plastering your own name on them. Zong did it. Ufone, Mobilink, all have done it.
I think it is excellent that atleast a few people are talking about this and trying to bring some level of awareness. However like anything that is right, we are in the corner, a pathetically small minority that can rant and rave amongst its own. When will the big boys listen. When will it stop. If you look at the top 10 commercials running on TV, I am sure that you will be able to find atleast 50% of them are violating some level of copyright laws.
You are right Uzair, It is really hard to maintain the balance but i believe we are putting our efforts and also welcoming everyone to support us as well. Thank you for giving us your moments, i really appreciate it.
how about plagiarization in Journalism?I think the plagiarized Journalism is even more dangerous than in advertisements coz this is real dacoity on sum1's original creativity.I guess More and Apnatime shud be a bit more concerned about it.BTW Zeeshan good job.I dont intend to say by any means that two wrongs make one right but still every kind of plagiarism shud be stopped.and magazines like MORE should be the role models for it, as, wat i can observe from this post, this group is more concerned with plagiarism n i guess its a gud thing.
very true Zafar i agree with you
Hello,
I am so amazed that how can Telenor ignore this blunder or they do not know. Ufone is on top of the line to do the same. I am in advertising industry. It is a primary responsibility of ad agencies as they must be aware of all happenings in advertising across the globe.
So do not be copy cat, be creative
i have remained the part of an advertising agency and it is sorry to say that acceptance of creativity does not exist anywhere. What ever client approves gets finalized despite of poor quality of work and its execution. People on clients side are very seldom bothered about the quality stuff because of their lack of vision and little experience in the branding job. I think similar thing happened in the very same ad.
bhaiii warid zong mobilink and other consumer brands have been doing the same practice for a long. Its easy money…lol. big names must take care of their reputation.