Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Fake Ad, Real Award?

The ad world is chattering away about the JCPenney "Speed Dressing" win at Cannes last week. The chatter isn't just about how this amusing spot won a Bronze Lion, but that the spot itself is a fake. JCPenney says it had nothing to do with it and is up in arms about the spot ruining the company's wholesome image. The spot was not entered by JCPenney or its ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, but by Epoch Films in New York. JCPenney is currently trying to get the spot pulled from the internet, where it's flourished since its Cannes win.

The nagging question in my mind is, how did it win? I'm not expert on Cannes by any means, but awards generally require the work submitted to be legit and something that's actually run in the media. Cannes rules don't appear to be any different.

The whole debacle is pretty amusing to me (although I wouldn't want to be working JCPenney PR or on that account at Saatchi right now). JCPenney thinks the spot ruins their brand and image. Others argue all this press is nothing but good for the company and the spot will help them with a younger, more hip audience. You be the judge. Check out the spot below. Does it help or hurt?



This spot has been disappearing on YouTube. If you can't view it here, try this link.

1 comment:

Megan said...

Yikes. Racy indeed.

I think Cannes should look into the issue and revoke the award if it's not a legit ad. No matter how good the video is, it shouldn't win if it's not real client work. That's an award show rule we all deal with.