Stealing From The Classics

Originally made in 1937, the movie A Star Is Born was recreated in 1954, 1976, and 2018. Watching the 1954 Judy Garland version sparked a family conversation of originals vs. reproductions.

I’m a purist who prefers original films, while my bride argues if the message still works, introducing it to a new audience is a good thing.

This led to analysis of an ad in Exhibitor magazine with a serious young woman, arms crossed, asking a series of questions focused on her ignorance of you, your company, and your product. Finally she asks “What was it you wanted to sell me?” with a moral of “Sales start before your account rep calls with integrated marketing solutions from EXHIBITOR.”

This clever message is sure to persuade its audience to place advertising in this publication. My bride likes it.

However, I’m troubled that this is an EXACT remake of a 1958 print ad created for McGraw-Hill business publications. That ad presented a grouchy old man, but was otherwise the same right down the line.

The earlier version become one of the best known and most quoted examples of print advertising ever, suggesting someone found it in a book, liked the idea, and lifted it wholesale.

Using tiny type, the Exhibitor ad calls itself an homage to the original. Legally they’re fine, though I believe it’s cheesy and lacks innovative thinking.

Because casual readers will see this ad and think Exhibitor’s “original” concept reflects the magazine’s creative product. Arguably, they actually have nothing creative of their own to sell, and are just poaching someone else’s concepts.

Yet assuming Mark Twain’s observation “There is no such thing as a new idea” is correct, then my bride’s point is the stronger claim.

Still, perhaps the answer’s somewhere in the middle, borrowing and refreshing ideas to adapt them to your own audience.

Because regardless of what you sell, you’re probably looking for new ways of imparting an old message. And with Mr. Clemens (Twain) in mind, you’re potentially examining marketing ideas from other industries or eras.

And there is unquestionably a treasure trove of good content out there to get inspiration from. But just saying “Got Widgets?” because another industry successfully used that tagline is, in this columnist’s opinion, lazy and bereft of anything original.

With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.

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