got original idea?

Like the concept of “good/better/best,” positioning lines crafted to promote a product or service have three stages of success.

“Good” would be those lines which most in the target audience would instantly associate with the specified product or service, but which don’t generally have much of a life beyond that purpose.

A “Better” positioning approach is one like “Spuds MacKenzie.” The “original party animal” was a topic of conversation for a while beyond the beer drinking target, but you’d never associate this image with anything but Bud Light.

Then there are the “Best” lines – those which become part of the cultural lexicon, because they touch something deeper in the human condition.

Perhaps the most famous recent example of this is “Just Do It.” While the line originated as an advertising campaign for Nike, soon everyone from coaches to teachers to politicians was using the phrase as a more systemic motivational tool. And when they did, the folks at Nike’s Beaverton, Oregon, headquarters smiled.

Another is the “got milk?” campaign created for the California Milk Processors.

These folks placed the eminently familiar “milk moustache” image on celebrities of all stripes in clever, quickly recognizable ads that touted the beverage’s health benefits for adults. The result: Milk sales grew for the first time in 20 years after the campaign debuted.

But while only a scant few companies have sought to acquire a sliver of the equity of “Just Do It” by twisting the line a bit for their own purposes, hardly a week goes by without seeing somebody new executing a “got (whatever)?” ad for their widget on a billboard, in print, on T-shirts...you name it.

While it’s all good for the milk processors when this happens, the sponsoring company might as well run cash through a shredder. That’s because the first two or three times it happened, the second word in the phrase stuck in the memory of those who saw the execution. After that, it’s been-there-done-that time.

The issue is less about plagiarizing an idea – a wise person once said, “All creativity is borrowed” – and more about the mistaken belief that an approach that works for one industry will automatically work elsewhere. How can you make certain you aren’t jumping to such conclusions?

• Consider your target. Executions that work reach out to a specific audience with a finite message. The milk campaign was designed to make milk drinking hip, once again, for (mostly) young adults. Nothing else. Using the same approach for a lumber yard (yes, there is a “got wood?” out there...) means you think plywood needs to be sexier. In the words of the Geico caveman, “Uh...what?”
• Check the trademark. Nike likely has a team of lawyers on standby for any violations, while the “got milk?” people have decided to reap the benefits of people aping their campaign. If you don’t know for certain, it’s not worth the risk.
• Evaluate your motivation. Most of the time, campaign “borrowing” happens when the idea well has run dry and panic is setting in. If you feel yourself getting ready to give up, talk it through with a co-worker. You never know what kind of “a ha” moment might come from the most mundane conversation.

The message? When you borrow someone else’s creative, you’re assuming that their strategic objectives and yours are in harmony. How many times do you suppose those planets actually align?