Hasta La Creative!

We all know how touchy ad people can be over getting credit for their ideas. I see it all the time as a reporter. Of course, it’s harder to figure out who “created” campaigns nowadays, particularly in digital, where execution is so critical. (See the Big Spaceship-BBDO Cannes kerfuffle.) A while back, in a short profile of EVB, I wrote a single sentence citing the digital shop’s success with OfficeMax’s “Elf Yourself” campaign. Toy New York, EVB’s partner in the effort, got very upset. The project was concepted by Toy and built by EVB, and the two shops had agreed to split credit down the middle, I was told. Fair enough. I ran a clarification. Today, though, I came across a Google ad that makes an interesting case that Toy was the sole creator of “Elf Yourself.” I guess Google is the next battleground for the fight to own the idea.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey