An interesting controversy has arisen around the striking similarities between an ad for Coke that ran on the Super Bowl this year, and an ad from 2002 for an Israeli milk brand.
The images in both ads are uncanny in their likeness--a sleepwalking young man who wanders across hill and dale to find a drink in a refrigerator that quenches his thirst so he may return to bed--happily. Even the theme song is the same--Revel's "Bolero."
Agencies and clients seem un-bothered by the similarities, saying any similarities are purely a coincidence.
"When we created the Coca-Cola 'Sleepwalker' commercial, we and ouragency were unaware of this other ad," said Coke spokeswoman SusanStribling. "Now that we've seen the ad, we think both commercials areequally entertaining. While the two share a few common elements, anysimilarities are coincidental and unintended."
After the Super Bowl airing a split-screen mash-up comparison of the Coke ad by agency Weiden & Kennedy, and a 2002 spot for Yotvata by Shalmor Avnon Amichay/Young & Rubicam, Tel Aviv, had been loaded onto YouTube.
We say this is another example of how there are few truly original thoughts in the world.
We have a collective consciousness and advertising images are designed to tap in to shared thoughts to stimulate interest in a brand. While creative always strives to be unique, tapping in to shared life themes is also part of advertising's effectiveness.
