Hasta La Creative!

“Anything you can do, I can do better.” That is the competitive nature that lives in us all. That attitude surfaces on the playground, in the classroom, at home and on TV. The prevalence of one-upmanship is unavoidable, and, damn it, I love it! The only place I enjoy a high level of competitiveness more than sports is the world of advertising. The creativity required to best your competition in this world has to be quick and uncanny, so please check mediocrity at the door. The most recent demonstration of witty one-upmanship I have witnessed were these two billboards below from Audi and BMW:

A few weeks ago Audi put up a billboard on Santa Monica Blvd. in Southern California showcasing their new A4 vehicle challenging BMW with the copy that reads “Your Move, BMW.” You have to appreciate the confidence Audi is demonstrating. No one expected BMW to take this slight with a smile, but how was BMW going to respond? The answer: by strategically putting up a bigger billboard on the other side of the road featuring the M3 with the copy that wittily reads “Checkmate.” Simple, clever, and absolute “ownage!” I was so taken by the sheer genius of the response I might have gotten a little giddy…On that note, know of any other great advertising disputes or challenges? Drop me a Tomment and let me know.

P.S. Remember when I said in the world of competitive advertising mediocrity should be checked at the door? Audi managed to sneak it pass; Audi responded shortly by replacing their billboard with another one, but the attempt is disappointing and makes little sense. BMW then responded by removing their billboard all together rendering the copy of the current Audi billboard confusing. I’d show you, but I don’t want to highlight mediocrity.

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Tommy Liu is a Creative at Supercool Creative where he also manages the blog (click here for more of his writing as well as his contact info).