Late last month Depaul France released a new piece of creative addressing the way homeless people are treated on the street.
In the spot, by Publicis Conseil, a hidden camera tracks the number of glances passersby give a homeless person versus a dog seated a few yards away. By the end of the ad, 258 had looked at the dog, compared to just 17 people who looked at the homeless man.
If the spot seems familiar, it should. About a year ago, Toronto charity Engage and Change launched a Cundari-crafted ad with a near-identical concept. The ad also compared the attention an abandoned dog received on the street versus a homeless man.
Andrew Simon, the creative director behind the Engage and Change spot, chalked the similarities up to a coincidence, but admitted the two ads are “quite identical.”
“These things happen. I always say: there’s no new ideas. There’s only re-imagining of other ideas,” said Simon, who has worked on campaigns for the organization for the past four years, both at Cundari and Blammo before that. Simon is currently executive creative director at Edelman.
“They’re two very worthy causes,” Simon continued. “I certainly don’t take any offense. If they had seen our spot, I don’t think they would have gone where they went.”
Though “Dog Days” was launched in 2014, the ad is currently in rotation, promoting Project Winter Survival‘s annual drive for donations. Early next year the group will deliver 3,000 winter survival kits to homeless Canadians.
Project Winter Survival – “Dog Days”
Depaul France – “Just 1 Look”
