When advertising agencies start liking art, a little bit too much.

Everyday it happens, advertising agencies hire fresh talents who dress like hobos to work on their campaigns. Many award winning commercials, are “inspired” by a very hot exhibition/party/performance/installations that has taken place in the “art world.” Ya know, that world that’s too hot to be understood by “regular” people. That world that, once it is finally understood, it decides to move on to the next thing, because they realize that you just cannot be cool if you are understood.

So, today I’m presenting two case studies. One is Sony, the second one is Sprint. Both companies hottest campaigns are inspired by very hot art groups, yet don’t really credit them with their creation. In other words, instead of letting these artists be actively involved in the campaigns, they just ran along with the ideas, as if they were theirs. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of appropriation… but more as an stylistic approach of an individual, to pursue a style. But when a company is actually looking to hire a “creative,” and they choose someone who has nothing to do with the style, instead of hiring the “celebrity” artist who is the leader in moving said style forward… well, I find that to be kinda shady.

First case is Sony’s Bravia bunny commercial. It is in fact, a beautiful commercial animated by Passion Pictures. The commercial consists of beautiful bouncing stop motion playdoh bunnies, invading New York… but in a cute, and inspiring way. It is interesting to see, however how identical these bunnies are to Kozyndan’s bunny illustrations. Nothing is proven regarding any actual “copyrighting infringement” happening… but knowing the popularity of these pieces in the art world, the possibilities of copying Kozyndan seem quite large. Add that to the fact that Fallon (the advertising agency that orchestrated the promo) at some point had asked Kozyndan for illustration samples… among them, the bunny pieces.

Fallon says the employee who asked for the pieces is no longer working for them, and that the agency had simply forgotten about the pieces after the employee left. All of these are valid arguments, and no idea is new… but how were so many “creatives” involved, yet they all claim no one had no previous knowledge of Kozyndan’s work before. Very convenient. Add that to the fact, that Sony doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to clean advertising, after they hoaxed their way into YouTube paying actors to pretend to be PSP fans. Yes, Sony… losing credibility one campaign at a time, are we?

Second case study is Sprint’s PikaPika advertising campaign. Pika Pika means “flashing light” in Japanese. A term coined by Tochka, an art group that travels the world sharing with others their animating with light techniques. This PikaPika campaign is Sprint’s best so far, and I honestly like it so much, that it is a shame I’m planning on leaving them very soon (even the coolest promos cannot make up for bad service). Still, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the agency who developed the commercials didn’t allow Tochka to be more actively involved with them, other than to invite them to audition for the part of the “light artist.” So, what is this trend, that although legal, companies that have a lot of money to spend on real artists, aren’t going for the real deal. Instead, they just get inspired by them, and dump them in the corner like last month’s pinup girl in the garbage bin of an adolescent boy.

There’s a fine line to be walked between appropriation and copyright infringement. And previously I had written something through the perspective of artists copying artists. And I believe, the tone was rather positive. But definitely, things take another darker tone when it comes to advertising. Because in advertising, it is not one person working using a popular style, it is a company looking for someone who can do the job. So, why not actually contact the people who inspired the idea? This doesn’t have to be legal or illegal… just the ethical thing of allowing people like Stan Lee to be an extra in movies like Spider-Man, recognizing the artist’s influence in today’s version of the original product. See it as bowing to your grandparents. It is an issue of respect from the big guys to the little guys… and being nice, not because you have to, but because you can.

Something interesting to mention, regarding a big company doing the right thing, FOX SearchLight Pictures did the right thing when they contacted Kozyndan to do the artwork for Jason Reitman’s latest movie, Juno. In the movie, Juno has her walls filled with Kozyndan art pieces. Not only that, when Juno is considering giving up her baby for adoption, she says she would like to give it to a hip graphic designer who has an asian girlfriend. I couldn’t help but laugh at the reference, because this clearly she was talking about Kozyndan, who are basically the people Juno describes as the perfect parents. Kudos to the writers for making such a humane movie that can appeal to the general public, but with enough hidden wit that can be enjoyed by stuck-up pseudo-intellectuals like myself. Thank you Jason Reitman, and thank you everyone for smoking.

-Alex