Hasta La Creative!

In comment threads around the ad world (including here on Adland) and all over twitter, people have been accusing Geometry Global for stealing an idea that already existed. As if cooking with iron was space age technology in the first place – you know, we weren’t using cast iron skillets for hundreds of years just for their superior heat holding ability. The comments have pointed to Wikipedia – the most unreliable narrator on the internet – as proof that the Lucky Iron Fish existed years ago and was created by a Dr Christopher Charles. The same Charles that’s mentioned Science Alert and BBC Science news earlier this year when they reported on the project. The protesting commentators will have you know that if Dr Charles came up with the idea based on research in 2008, with a the project start in 2012, it can’t possibly win a design and PR award in 2015. Also, the protestors will have you know, it’s totally Dr Charles idea and he totally did all that PR all by his lonesome. Or somesuch. Some protestors even claim the fish design itself is Gavin Armstrong’s design, he’s the President and CEO of the lucky iron fish, and also a PhD Candidate in biomedical science. Product design must be his hobby, then.

Geometry Global has a response to all this:

Dr. Charles was involved in this project having creating the original prototype of the iron fish.
There has since been years of product development to create the workable version that was launched in October 2014 and which won the award. Dr. Charles serves on the board of Lucky Iron Fish who, together with Geometry Global, collected the award last night.

That’s right, an iron fish that stops smiling when it’s time to replace it didn’t just get designed overnight. Considering I once worked on a magazine layout grid for seven months, I can believe designing a product that will change after use may take some time and a few failed attempts. And did you notice Lucky Iron Fish was there collecting the award too? How many creatives have watched only the ECD & CCO from their agency go fetch the lion-glory they created, while they’re still at the office?

Dr. Christopher Charles wrote a thesis entitled ‘The Happy Fish’, researched from 2008-2011 at the University of Guelph. This identified that cooking with a block of iron enabled iron to be absorbed into the body and he created a fish made out of iron, but it contained contaminants and broke easily.
Gavin Armstrong joined the project in 2012, helping to improve the scientific composition of the product, bringing elements of Cambodian custom to the design and creating a fish whose smile faded when it needed to be replaced. In the same year, Lucky Iron Fish was established as a B-Corp by Armstrong to bring the product to market and realize its international scalability in collaboration with Geometry Global/Memac Ogilvy.
This latest iteration is the award-winning version that was launched in October 2014. Gavin Armstrong is CEO of Lucky Iron Fish and Dr. Christopher Charles serves on the Board of Directors.

All clear? Not quite yet – as people have pointed out how similar lucky iron fish case study is to the Lucky Iron Fish co film (below) uploaded to youtube in July of 2014. Also, the credits on the entry list involved Matt Cullen & Gary Tranter, co-founders of Singapore advertising agency Arcade who wrote an open letter at Campaignbrief calling “bullshit” on the whole thing. They created the original case film, which Geometry Global then asked if they could use. Geometry Global even added Arcade’s credits to the Cannes entry. Sharing credits now, the original sin.

So many people have been asking me about this and even congratulating me for winning at Cannes I felt I had to write something. I did not win at Cannes and my agency had nothing to do with the entry.

When the guys from Geometry Dubai called me, asking if they could use our Iron Fish footage to raise awareness for the Iron Fish project, I expressed reluctance as it’s not normal to release creative work to other agencies, but they assured me it was simply for PR purposes to generate donations.

I agreed. Anything to help this worthwhile project.

I have to say I was surprised to see they won the Product Design Grand Prix at Cannes.

Even more surprised to see they’d used the footage, music and exact words from my script, in their case study video. The video implies the agency Geometry spotted a need, came up with the Iron Fish idea and somehow designed the little fish.

Bullshit.

I spent a long time in Cambodia with Chris Charles, the actual product designer of the Iron Fish (though he’d probably hate me calling him that) shooting a spot for my client Google and in the process learnt much about the amazing work they are doing out there. It’s not just the Iron Fish you know; the ceramic pot water filtration system is simply brilliant and is delivering clean water to many villages.

In the whole time I was there, I saw no one from Geometry Dubai’s Product Design Department, beavering away to help the people of Cambodia.

If winning is at Cannes is part of the PR awareness drive, I’ve got no problem at all with it, but I don’t think you should claim an idea and design when it’s not yours.

If you’re interested, the ad I shot with Matt Cullen, Rebecca So and Chin Chin-Han Yu can be seen here. Jonathan Finnigan was the Director and the beautiful music was created by Gerard Fitzgerald at Song Zu Singapore.

Gary Tranter
Founder/ECD Arcade

It simply isn’t Cannes without plenty of rosé followed by sour grapes – but do weigh in, what do you think about the Lucky Iron Fish winning the Product Design grand prix?