Deja View: cummins&partners apologises to AFL and Aussie designer Tyson Beck for plagiarism
The Herald Sun in Melbourne reports that the AFL and its creative agency has apologised to an Australian designer Tyson Beck after it blatantly plagiarised his art work to help promote the AFL’s multicultural round.
The Herald Sun says Beck’s design of Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James has a striking similarity to the AFL’s artwork promoting this weekend’s round.
The Herald Sun does not mention the creative agency but it has been confirmed to CB that it is the AFL’s agency of record, cummins&partners, Melbourne.
When contacted by CB cummins&partners released this statement: “As soon as we found out what happened we contacted the artist and apologised. He’s been complimentary about how we’ve handled the process and we are compensating him and he is satisfied with how it’s been managed. He’s also acknowledged that inspiration comes from multiple sources, and indeed this particular grid-style montage design occurs in many forms around the world – and has done so for many years. However, in developing our mood boards and reference, we acknowledge that this is way too close a representation.”
However, Beck’s work seems to be strikingly similar to a campaign (left) created by American artist Blaine Fridrick, who is the graphic designer of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Since this story has been posted one CB commentator believes the original use of this technique was for the poster promoting the 2008 feature film, Vantage Point (pictured bottom).
39 Comments
lol
Did someone say FootifyFM. Broadcasting the games in a bunch of foreign languages seems a little familiar too…
Pretty sure the original (if it is such a thing) version of this approach is the poster for the film Vantage Point.
This can’t be news. CR haven’t had an original thought in 15 years.
So since you ‘picked up’ the account you’ve turned out crap ads and plagiarized work. Well done, CP.
Funny that Old CD Guy, didn’t you work at cummins in the last 15 years at some point?
@strike 2 – what was similar about FootifyFM broadcast? Which other brand did that in for a sport?
They are nothing like each other. One is african-american the other is chinese.
Seriously people, work it out.
Heads should roll.
Old CD Guy likes to bitch about old colleague’s work, not cool.
its not the same at all, the AFL one is orange, completely different, they are obviously 2 independent, utterly unsimilar pieces of work
Tyson’s work looks similar to this…
https://www.behance.net/gallery/8333449/Misc-Cavs-Creative-13-14
All the agency’s fault?
So this designer is blatantly copying someone else’s work exactly anyway?? How does he have the nerve to call out the AFL then??? *face palm*
Dividing an image into smaller frames is a design staple. Just another montage or multiple images technique. No single designer can have ownership of that.
Media beat up. Must have been a slow news day.
An imposter has taken my handle. Shame on you, madam. I have no comment on this story.
A ‘creative’ agency resorting to copying ideas. Wow you’ve really stooped to a new low here Cummins. Oh the humiliation….
Interesting to read in other articles Cummins & Partners the agency admitted to plagiarising Tyson’s work and that the AFL spokesperson said it is unacceptable. Some people have no idea about the difference between inspiration and plagiarism in the comments above. The agency used Tyson’s work from the start of the campaign, they knew what they were doing and hoped nobody would notice. How pathetic. It’s not a coincidence and it’s great to see the AFL say it’s not on. Hope this leads to losing AFL as a client. They should work with freelancers anyway, look at what the “best agency” produced here
Massive difference between work being talked about. All apart of a set style. But the AFL’s version by that agency is obviously plagiarised. They even admitted to it, so why is there even a conversation to justify this…
How the fuck did that get through. It’s not inspired by, it’s a photocopy. It’s not just a montage technique, it’s a perfect match for colour and composition.
I imagine actually Saul Bass did it first
Echo your thoughts Ben. It’s not a montage technique like others have stated above (probably not designers), it’s a perfect match and the agency admitted to plagiarising it and using it from the brainstorming stage of the campaign
Shit! I hope people don’t think I’m the Old CD Guy. Even I’m not that old. Or that bitter.
How far the AFL’s brand has fallen in the short time since they parted ways with GPY&R.
These are clients wide open for massive creative executions.
The ‘products’ themselves are gifts from the usually stingy brief gods. Grandstands of visuals, emotional concepts by the tear-filled buckets and a budget fit for a Media owner.
The perfect storm to raise a creative visual storm.
Yet it all ended up in a squelch – such a wasted opportunity.
Love how the article through in a dig to make Tyson look bad. Nobody can own the style process, Tyson’s work is plagiarised by the agency. There’s no other way to look at it.
Maybe it’s the type of work that’ll win at the ‘marketing science’ type awards that c&p seem to constantly peddle. They do bang on about ‘repeatable work’…
Full Saul Bass ripoff.
Get educated people. This technique didn’t start in 2008 haha.
Plagiarism is the currency in advertising, the process simply doesn’t allow for something ‘new’ to be made because that would actually involve selling in an idea that can’t be shown to the client as a reference.
Thanks for chiming in late Saul as if you’re the only person who knows anything about design history.
As much as there are elements of the work above that would share a aspects of technique lineage back to Saul Bass’ work, his designs tended to be more graphically illustratively lead.
Are you able to specifically identify something that shares very similar qualities to the work in question, in ways as paralleled as the 2008 poster?
In the world of sports design people in Australia might not realise but Tyson Beck is one of the most highly respected and well known in the industry. The agency really thought this would go unnoticed plagiarising it in the sports niche also. Classic. Good on you Tyson for raising this, his sports client base is far greater than this entire agency also.
In a broader social context, plagiarism is happening everywhere – our music, fashion and design is cookie cutter. Very few if any original artists left.
Thank the Internet, but we’ve all become copyists instead of artists.
Art is dead. Embrace it and move on.
Well, with all the examples here that use this picture box technique – All Mr Beck can claim is that his highly referenced layout has been referenced again.
I wonder if he had permission from the photographer to use those images on a layout he’s attached a Nike to?
^^ The Agency and AFL said it was plagiarised and unacceptable. Tyson doesn’t need to claim anything. It was admitted and agreed by all
Well done Tyson Beck. Great to see this was resolved, hopefully the agency thinks twice next time. Good to hear they said it was plagirised, heard it on radio
“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.”
I wouldn’t pay him a cracker. He doesn’t ‘own’ this technique, nor was he the first person to use it.
^ not about the technique, it’s about the execution. he didn’t say he “owns” anything. Plagiarism is real, and the agency agreed they straight ripped it. ABC did a more in-depth article: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-07/afl-apologises-to-adelaide-graphic-designer-for-plagiarism/6679488
These pelicans are actually still using this graphic for their own internal recruitment!! Good designers copy. Great designers steal.
https://imgur.com/a/VCDPj
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