Monday, August 6, 2007
Ethics in writing.
Back in ad school I penned some tasty headlines for a project that never went very far. Before it stalled, however, I was asked by the other writer in my group if it'd be okay if he/she "used" them for critique. While they did not say this openly, the implication was these ads, which I wrote, were going to be passed off as if the work belonged to them--as if they wrote ads they didn't actually write. At the time I didn't care. I wasn't using them, and any idea that's a product of group collaboration belongs in essence to the group, but is this true with words and writers? Can I, in good conscience, present work that I did not myself pen as if I did? As a matter of truth and honesty, I would never think to do so, but I know this type of false representation exists. As reprehensible as it is, I believe truth comes to bear when a creative director starts to wonder why the writer they hired can't seem to come up with the type of headlines they used to sell them on their talents in the first place. Thoughts on this, anyone?
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9 comments:
Reprehensible! We all know it exists in school and in agencies worldwide, the issue for me is when a student or professional attempts to pass off work as their own, when they offered nary an opinion on the original concept. We've all had experiences where a Creative Director may attempt to tweak a headline or twist some body copy, but even then I have a hard time claiming the work as my own if it has been touched by others.
If I have a great campaign, concept or headline I shouldn't feel obliged to share it either, unless someone else is pulling their weight in the process.
i say who cares. good agencies sniff out the lazy riff-raff pretty quick. why waste your time trying to keep tabs on others? they're only cheating themselves. focus on your work and you'll get due notice and credit by those you consider worth getting feedback from.
I agree with you, anonymous, but, like my anecdotal example from the post, would you feel comfortable giving someone your work knowing they were going to pass it off as their own? I've done it, and didn't care much about doing so at the time, but have since rethought my position on this. Perhaps it's because then I was a student and now I'm a professional--I don't know. I don't really give a damn about getting credit, I just wish people had a little more integrity, that's all.
Integrity. Yes.
I think it's whack. There are enough hacks in this business on their own merit. Thieving hacks are even worse. Screw 'em.
in a group i think you have to just keep working even if others are lagging. but, if someone is outright stepping in and taking full credit making you a ghost-conceptor© then it's time to put up your dukes. i absolutely want/need/should have credit. i wouldn't let that pass whether student or pro. although, if alex bogusky wanted to ADD his name to a camp. he didn't touch i'd be down with that. but i don't think you're talking about that.
-anon
Ha. I'd be down with Bogusky putting his name on anything, too. In fact, I'd probably ask him to.
Yep. Bogusky can "touch" my work all he wants.
Do you "guys" want to "touch" my "work"?
no....but i can't help but nod yes
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