subject: Of Moonpigs And Funky Pigeons: Is Originality Dead & Buried? [print this page] Of Moonpigs And Funky Pigeons: Is Originality Dead & Buried?
As I write this, 'Funky Pigeon' is a trending topic in the UK on Twitter. If you've been 'lucky' enough to catch the advert on TV, you'll know Funky Pigeon is an online card company. Or maybe you wouldn't know, since the main theme of the advert involves a pigeon sitting on a bike, wearing a hat and grooving to an annoying tune (guaranteed to be stuck in your head all day at work).
I (and many others, apparently) couldn't help but notice that it's an obvious attempt at mimicking the already successful card company, Moonpig. You can almost picture it now, a couple of entrepreneurial young guys sitting around their Mum's kitchen table:
Spotty Dude: Mum wants me to go to uni, study medicine or something. "Do something worthwhile with your life". Can you just imagine it, mate? Me, a doctor? Too much effort. Show me the money!
Hairy Guy: Haha. Can't see you being a doctor, mate. *Humming jingle to annoying advert off the tele*
Spotty Dude: Oh god! Will you shut up humming that blimming Moonpig ad, it's driving me nuts.
Hairy Guy: I can't get it out of my head. Obviously doing their job properly, eh? They're likely raking it in. Y'know what? We should do something like that, we'd make a mint!
There you have it! 'Borrow' some branding ideas from Moonpig - Oddball animal character and name, employ a couple of talented marketing execs, air an annoying advert on TV and you're ready to roll.
The music industry is rather lacking in the originality department as well. Producers and music companies pump out tunes that sound exactly like the latest number one'. Taking a risk on something groundbreaking is not a viable business option.
Did originality and creativity die along with the likes of Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix and Joni Mitchell? But then again, did originality ever exist to begin with? Michael Jackson's dance moves were highly influenced by James Brown, after all.
In a world that is, more than ever, driven by material possessions, is creativity being stamped out and replaced by the gargantuan fist of corporate fat cats and little boys looking to make a quick buck here and there? I hope not.
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