Let’s set aside that this usage of “crowdsourcing” to describe what is essentially a competition is clearly wrong based on the wikipedia definition of the term, and just stick with it for the purposes of discussion…
Brands turning to the concept of crowdsourcing to create their adverts is hardly a new thing (Pringles, Doritos and many others have all been there before) and today’s AdAge story covers UniLever firing the agency behind the cult-status “Peperami, it’s a bit of an animal” advertising since 1993 and turning to startup site Idea Bounty to host their creative contest [note, Idea Bounty don't use the term crowdsourcing on their FAQ page].
The comments on the piece make interesting reading – from one extreme to the other. Some think that clients are playing with fire – what next? “crowdsource your legal issues, perhaps a medical diagnosis, financial advice?” I honestly can’t believe that someone, clearly with a vested interest, would liken an advertising creative professional to a doctor. I understand the desire to protect your trade, nobody wants to be put out of work by amateurs doing your job for fun rather than profit but this refusal to accept crowdsourcing itself as a tactic for even agencies themselves to employ is naive.
Others are more open to the concept, questioning the entrenched: “Are you saying that agencies are the only companies that can find and keep creative thinkers?” says one contributor.
The brief in this case is to produce a print and tv execution for a line extension of the Peperami product, making use of the ‘Animal’ character created by Lowe. Some see this as an affront to Lowe, taking their original concept, questioning whether agencies shouldn’t license their ideas to clients rather than turn them over.
My feeling on the matter is that crowdsourcing can play a part in many companies’ advertising creative strategies – why not let young creatives try their hand. In the case of some products it might even make sense to invite your customers to come up with the ideas. The format of the Peperami brief, written for people who’ve never heard of the product seems wrong to me; the prize money is in US dollars too, whereas the advert will be used in the UK. I’m pretty sure that a couple of teenagers in the UK, the very target market for the ad, could come up with a better idea than most of the people that Idea Bounty will attract.
Let’s not forget that this is simply a tactical play – I don’t expect any brand to use this kind of process to formulate the creative for entire campaigns. It’s also an attention-getting tactic in and of itself, a brand will be talked about for employing this concept, unless everybody’s doing it and I really can’t see that happening any time soon.
What this kind of process won’t do is destroy advertising agencies. Advertising is about more than single execution creative, the adverts still need to be produced, the campaign planned and the media bought. These are the skills that are an intrinsic part of the advertising industry, just as much as the raw creative, it’s just that they’re less glamourous.
Image credit: micn2sugars
