Take a look at this newly released commercial for Scion cars:
…and then watch this trailer for The Wrong Mans (which we shot last year and which aired widely in the UK and US).
Now, let’s be fair. It’s not uncommon for ideas to be recycled or rehashed in some way. Sometimes it’s even deliberate – a knowing reference or parody, or a new spin on an old idea. Very occasionally it’s a genuinely unintended or subconscious repetition. The advertising industry has “previous” when it comes to… ahem… “referencing” existing material.
It should also be said, The Wrong Mans itself was a show in which we had a lot of fun subverting existing action-thriller tropes, and this trailer was no exception – a spin on the “walking away from an explosion” cliche.
But this Scion commercial goes so far as to use the exact same punchline.
So what do you think? Is it a charming nod, an unwitting duplicate, or outright theft? Either way, I’m not sure whether to be surprised, outraged or just plain proud.
Jim Field Smith 