Don't see this everyday

in

Don't often see a spat between consultants over plagiarism or maybe immitation is the more favorable description: The ad in question is this Grayson ad.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL51grs5JDo&feature=player_embedded]

Compared with this Spitzer ad.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YtdxY_woS8&feature=player_embedded]

It's been a bad day for the Grayson consultant, what with lying in one ad, and being hit for plagiarism in this ad. I have to say, I have a lot of respect for the creator of the original, Jimmy Siegel and the Spitzer ads in general, and right now not much respect for the folks who are making the Grayson ads.

I don't agree with Siegel's assertion "you're not allowed to shamelessly copy things in other mediums, but for some reason some media consultants have no shame."

I think a good ad can and should be shamelessly copied if it's relevant to the race you're running,it's authentic to your candidate, and you can bring something new to it. My problem with the imitation in this case is that it just feels like Grayson didn't really add anything new, didn't "make it his own." It just copied the form of the Spitzer ad (down to the 8mm flash frames) and just threw Grayson in there with his kids instead of kids by themselves.  It misses the subtlety and freshness of the original, neither parodying it nor adding to it.

Siegel got this part right, "And to add insult to injury, they did a lousy job."