What is an Idea, and How Much is it Worth?
Apple’s ad agency TBWA was accused of plagiarism by a company called Lugz. Apple supposedly used Lugz’ idea for a commercial. Now Lugz wants money. What is an idea, and how much is it worth?
Plato says, that learning is not so much understanding something new and previously unknown, but actually remembering what was always inside us. We cannot learn what is not inside us. That is why, whoever hears an idea, quickly believes that actually what he just learned was always his idea. An idea is not some pink cloud that looks like a bunny. Idea originally meant “form, shape”, and that is what a real idea has. It has a clear shape.
The clearer the shape the better the idea
A good idea doesn’t suggest: “Wouldn’t it be cool if cars could fly?”; a good idea tells you how to make cars fly. An idea without a clear understanding of what it needs to become real is just a fantasy. Just like a will without action is just a wish. An idea is worth as much as its realism or realizability. But that does not mean an idea is worth nothing until it is realized.
Business Ideas
Businesses are based on business ideas and communication services live from communication ideas. The more realizable the idea, the more it’s worth. So, again: How much is an idea worth? It’s worth a lot. Because: It is all in the idea. A designer without ideas is nothing but a vain technician; a business man without business ideas is nothing but a slacker that likes to make other people work for him. A marketer without ideas is just a liar.
All ideas are based on ideas we got from somewhere else. All thinking is based on imitation. First you imitate, then you create. All expression is based what you’ve learned. All originality has a source. Yes, but the question is: What do you do with your source? Do you develop it into something new?
Apple - Lugz
It is pretty obvious that whoever created the apple ad probably has seen the Lugz ad at some time. Still they are two different ads.
Lugz and psyop (the agency that made the original orange yellow black ad) get a lot of publicity. They claim to be really angry about the stolen idea. In reality they know that nothing better could have happened to them. Lugz and psyop get a huge pay back for TBWA’s color plagiarism. Needless to say that by doing my little research here I discovered that psyop indeed does an amazing job. But we all know that the really cool stuff is always done by really cool small companies, and that big companies often have trouble being creative. Apple itself is an exception here. I hope I don’t need to explain why.
What Apple, TBWA, psyop and Lugz might do
TBWA might admit they copied the color scheme from psyop. To their defense they can say that conceptually the iPod ad still has the silhouette and the white earphone cable thing going, and that they added the color splash to it.
Apple might react just as they reacted when Eminem accused them of plagiarism in 2003, when a kid sang Eminem’s “Loose yourself” in an iTunes spot on MTV. Eminem and Apple settled their legal action, after an agreement that involved TBWA. In short: Apple should hire psyop.
Psyop might sue Sony for the new bravia ad. Sony might have copied the bouncing balls idea from the Coke ad psyop did some time ago.
What about Lugz? Lugz might ask Steve Jobs to wear Lugz shoes at his next keynote, so he can get accused by some smart ass again for…
