Lebanese Brew’s “TRY SOMETHING BRAVE” inspired* or not?!
Reader’s comment: This mess of a campaign, although not exactly a copycat, is heavily inspired by the Be Stupid campaign.
“To be stupid is to be brave, when you risk something, that’s stupid” says Diesel’s manifesto.The two campaigns are quite similar in the sense that both show examples of people acting stupid. But Lebanese Brew, being the brave beer it is, does not hide this fact. It reinforces it the by employing the same typographic composition.
Lebanese Brew’s “TRY SOMETHING BRAVE” inspired* or not?!
By Admin I : Okay so it was just a matter of hours that the flow of feedback around the LB Beer new campaign started shifting towards the negative; and yes, it was somehow expected because it’s such a Lebanese ritual – bashing successful work – that takes over our minds the minute we get exposed to a certain controversial approach.
The Diesel manifesto, or the “BE STUPID” campaign was previously mentioned when LB adapted the “Brave” approach a couple of campaigns ago yet the similarity was totally irrelevant, but now we’re facing 2 bluntly similar campaigns both playing on guts and bravery even if one called it “stupid” and one insists on “brave”; guys the approach is the same, yes. the layout looks very similar, yes, but to me the whole campaign for this exact product trying to find a point of difference in the market is still worth crediting.
I’m very sure, like 100% positively sure that Interesting Times knows more than me and you that Diesel manifesto is too famous to imitate, it’s just too well known, so again they went for the “brave” – knowing how wickedly insane they can be – which still makes sense being executed to fit our local lifestyle.
It was worth looking at both campaigns and will totally leave the decision for you guys: Inspired* or not?!
it’s art and copy. they arn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, they just made it look a hell of a lot nicer. inspired? yea maybe but half a century of advertising work…nothing wrong with that. This campaign has created a huge buzz and isn’t that what it’s supposed to do in the end of the day?
Hmmm, maybe, maybe not.. walking naked in the streets can create a buzz (not sure though) but still wouldn’t make me reach a goal.. and yes, advertising will always run the same way.
As Luke Sullivan brilliantly put it:” To those who defend the campaign based on sales I ask, would you also spit on the table to get my attention? It would work, but would you?”
depends who you’re talking to…the L.B audience would love some spit on their table
you say spit. we say right on.
It’s not imitation, it’s theft.
and as the saying goes: “Good artists steal, bad artists imitate”.
Diesel’s method was stolen only because it best serves the concept, and what they are trying to say. They are brave, they don’t give a fuck about what’s being said about them imitating, they just do it because they are good artists.
Respect
Makes sense. agree.
How does ‘it’s the last summer on earth try something brave’ which encourages people to get out of the mundane and do the things they’ve always wanted to do but society doesn’t allow or they don’t have enough courage to do it, how does all that have anything to do with rewarding stupidity!?? And and and if the typography is a bit similar doesn’t make the campaign similar. Many campaigns have adopted this style way before and after Diesel! Seriously guys, what’s with this Lebanesey obsession in bashing anything good that is Lebanese!! Khalas baddna nrou2
true.
“Be Stupid“ is a campaign that encourages consumers to take risks and move beyond the smart and sensible track for life.
“Try something brave” encourages people to get out of the mundane and do the things they’ve always wanted to do but society doesn’t allow or they don’t have enough courage to do it. (in your own words)
Both campaigns show examples of non-conformists doing doing brave/stupid acts.
Diesel: Man getting his head stuck in an elephant’s ass.
LB: Man stripping on a pole.
Diesel: Woman flashing her boobs to the security camera.
LB: Men jumping naked in Manara.
I think you answered you own question. Both campaigns are trying to promote stupidity as bravery.
Lebanese Brew failed because it’s way less funny than Diesel. When you want to imitate something, at least try to do it better.
Now, what’s with the Lebanese obsession of trying to distort the truth?
are you seriously comparing a man getting his head stuck in an elephant’s ass to a man pole dancing?
Yes. One is less stupid than the other. But that’s about it. Try to see the whole picture rather than getting defensive.
People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.
You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.
Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.
You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs.
i agree. it is the level of stupidity.
Shouldn’t every campaign be left open for the crowd to decide whether it’s plagiarism or not?
You are quick to scrutiny campaigns that are remotely similar to others, but show extreme tolerance towards campaigns like this one and even justify plagiarism by arguing that good artists steal.
I’m sorry, but I think you should stop using a double standard on plagiarism.
Regards
“Shouldn’t every campaign be left open for the crowd to decide whether it’s plagiarism or not?” of course not! The crowd is often very passive dear!
And concerning plagiarism, we’ve been trying to maintain balance AND speak our minds. We never claimed objectivity and again we are no professional critiques, we are brofessionals expressing themselves. That’s it; when you get this, everything becomes clear.
There is no such thing as bad publicity. They got you taking bout it for the past 50hrs and counting…
So has Myriam Klink, but is she any good?
Looking at the pictures, it’s ironic how well the Lebanese Brew ad camouflages with the Diesel campaign. You’d think it’s part of the campaign. Just goes to prove my point.
I just think it’s odd how you call other work “deja vu” then throw such high praise on other work. Why is that?
Because it’s a personal point of view, mere subjectivity.. in general nothing is new, we’re just recycling.. but some people recycle better than others… Deja vu is deja vu and we have never defended an inspired* campaign.. we prefer to let you judge after reading our brofessional intuitive opinion
You’re biased to Interesting Times. You probably work there, too. Why don’t you just admit italready? If you believe everything is recycled (which I disagree with) then you should treat all ‘recycled campaigns the same way. Not praise some and bash others for copying. You’re starting to get on my nerves. Being subjective doesn’t allow you to insult the reader’s intelligence.
I’ve been called a Leo Burnett, republique and Interesting Times employee so far (thank God not Clementine).. What a great career I DON’T have!!
Respecting my reader’s intelligence simply manifests in publishing their comments and reflecting their opinions in posts which I exactly did with you in this post’s intro. I literally called this campaign a duplicate, how is that biased? should I go kill the creative or something?! Please show some decency.
You called it “best campaign of 2012″ and dismissed critics as typical Lebanese who like to bash successful work. It’s you, sir, who should show some decency. End of conversation.
I think some people are just being too bitter and can only see the negative critical side. This campaign has some similarities in design and tone of voice, like many campaigns even by the most creative agencies. it is asking people to get out of the usual established Almaza and try a brave new beer drawing analogy to everyday mundane. Get out of the mundane is an approach that is currently taken by many brands worldwide. Nevertheless this campaign used ’2012 the last summer on earth’ to communicate this message and you are still talking about the diesel stupid campaign. The message and purpose of the campaign is completely different. you can sit and scrutinies it all day or more as it seems while others continue to create great campaigns.
What’s next LB?
you perfectly closed the argument …thumbs up totally agree
Justify it all you like. It’s still ‘theft’. Shame on Interesting Times and shame on you Brofessional Review.
Appreciate your insight but you have to know that if we wanted to defend the work, this post wouldn’t have existed.
Sorry bas ana shemmeh ri7it tawto2
I don’t think those 2 ads relate. Diesel obviously is going for something people regularly dn’t want to be associated to: Stupidness. However LB is going for fun and dare which is what they have always associated their identity to. And typography isn’t tht similar for me, the fact that they are using big font doesn’t mean that they were copying them, there are a lot of ads with large fonts. I have made a visual before with a similar design, but i haven’t seen both ads back then So for me, the concept and the typograpgy isn’t related in any way. There is just a general mood to the ad that makes you relate to it, nothing more.
I think it is… I loved the Diesel campaign and I regret having had to throw their catalogue when I moved. But yes, as soon as I saw Lebanese Brew the Deisel campaign popped to my mind along with… I seems no one remembered this – the Aizone “Vote” campaign specifically the TV commercial (not the billboards or prints)…. It had an alternative hispter edge to it.
Glad to have you Tarek.
Be Stupid (Diesel) + Only The Brave (Diesel) = Try Something Brave (LB) ?
It makes more sense when you add the brave campaign by diesel to the equation
But again, i’m not saying whether it is inspired or not, it’s great and that’s what matters
i dont see how these two ads relate.
am i diesel stupid O_o
You’re funny how you check a bunch of posts per day! We’re happy you’re skimming through archives!!
hahaha yeahh well im new here so i have to catch up
great!! you can always comment here or email us on brofessionalreview@gmail.com .. @brofessonalR on twitter too!
It’s an obvious case of imitation, even if it works, which it does, even if not to the same effect of the original campaign.
You would have to be blind and intentionally ignorant to deny that Diesel’s ads were the initiators of LB’s campaign, both through concept and visual style. I had a feeling once the campaign was launched that it wasn’t an original as it seemed too much of a western concept to be conceived of by an arab ad agency.
I only wish that local concepts would be brought into the equation rather than generic ones that apply to drinking in any situation or location. I also wish ad agencies in the region would brainstorm and create ideas rather than recycle them from elsewhere.
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