Do The Right Thing: Droga5, Tribal DDB And Two Creatives
April 21, 2008
Too bad that this 27-year old twosome are actually at the center of a media shit storm. You see, over at Creativity January and Scott are being credited with work they didn’t actually produce. The normally spot on journos at the mag must have been blind sided by the pair’s wildly Uniqlo vibe. A snippet from the article:
“When Vernon (art) and Ginsberg (copy) arrived in New York in 2004, it was to join Tribal DDB, where they worked on the bawdy “Shave Everywhere” online campaign for Philips’ manscaping appliance, the Bodygroom.”
First of all, Vernon and Ginsberg never worked at Tribal DDB. That would be DDB people. Big difference. This typo might have been a journalistic oversight. Shit, we do that all the time, but as many like to point out, we’re just a blog.
The duo won an Effie, while working at, yes, DDB for their wild posting campaign for the same brand, Bodygroom. They got some mojo for sure, but um…
“Shave Everywhere” was a much-lauded online campaign that took home a Gold Cyber Lion in Cannes and Pencils at The One Show and D&AD. Who wouldn’t want to take a little credit for it or alternatively, let a journalist give them some shine? However, just because you did wild postings doesn’t mean that you developed an entire online experience. Apparently, the pair sat in on one meeting where everyone got together to talk shop about the client. One meeting does not a website articulate, create or build. Steven Nesle (Tribal’s ECD) and Brook Lundy (the copywriter on Shave Everywhere) have got to be fuming that credit for their idea is going every which way. This is a small navel gazing industry. Did you guys think no one would notice?
The rest of the article has Vernon and Ginsberg rattling off the reasons why they make a good team. One reason is that they don’t take the business seriously. Maybe not, but seriously… You guys might want to write Creativity and get them to redact that whole paragraph there. It kind of looks like you’re complicit. People are talking. Think of your future and that other people take their work and this business very seriously. Another reason they work well together is that they have the ability to call bullshit on one another. So, hey… when you guys read this article - who called bullshit on who?
Too often credit is not given where credit is due. You’d think that creatives would at least correct journalists when this kind of stuff happens. Hos before bros? No, no… how about do the right thing? Yeah. That works.
April 22, 2008 at 12:10 am
I’d hit it…
April 22, 2008 at 12:19 am
They worked on the campaign as a junior team. I don’t think the article implied they were taking credit for the site.
April 22, 2008 at 12:31 am
I’m equal oppertunity.
April 22, 2008 at 12:35 am
This is b.s. drama. The only mistake was that the reporter said they worked at Tribal. They worked at DDB and did the advertising and contributed here and there to the site. They didn’t say they came up with it. What’s the point of this post but to slander.
April 22, 2008 at 12:39 am
Oh please. I have been in countless meetings at agencies watching them present case studies of work they had only a minor part in. It’s the most fun when it was something I worked on/was the lead agency on. It’s a nature of the biz.
Leave these kids alone.
April 22, 2008 at 1:09 am
Seriously? These guys are taking credit for work they DIDNT do in a huge publication. They’re getting a spread for WORK THEY DIDN’T DO.
They didn’t work at tribal. They didn’t do the work. One meeting does not equate being the team behind all the creative.
Creativity should have done their homework. Oh, and yes, I’d hit it as well.
April 22, 2008 at 1:13 am
How about a little integrity? I changed planes in Rome once, doesn’t mean I went to Italy now does it? And they’re not kids. They’re 28. They should know better than to knowingly facilitate false statements.
April 22, 2008 at 1:14 am
I’m usually a big fan of agencyspy, but this looks REAL sketchy. If it turns out that January and Scott did, in fact, work on the Shave Everywhere stuff, then I think agencyspy owes their readers -and more importantly January and Scott- a sincere apology.
April 22, 2008 at 1:40 am
You guys are so totally off base. Making accusations that a team DIDN’T work on a campaign without foundation, is just as bad as a team claiming they worked on something that they didn’t. Anyway, I happen to know for a fact that these two creatives had a heavy hand in creating this campaign - and Tribal assumed the credit just because it was “online”. Why do you think they left and went to a REAL agency?? Mind you, they’ve proven themselves time and again.
April 22, 2008 at 1:42 am
Is this a joke? I am beginning to wonder where you are getting your information… Not like it is ever really accurate.
April 22, 2008 at 2:35 am
AgencySpy… or rather the coward behind it who remains anonymous, stop this crap. Go ahead and talk about agencies at large, but stop slandering the people who, unlike you, get up every morning and set out to do great things.
April 22, 2008 at 3:26 am
I was at Tribal during shaveeverywhere. They were around for it. They contributed like the 20 other people on the project. I’m an eye witness. Leave them alone.
April 22, 2008 at 3:31 am
@snakelady:
They didn’t have a heavy hand,as you say. They made a poster based on DDB London print ad. Truth hurts.
April 22, 2008 at 3:41 am
I’m pretty sure this is the National Enquirer version of ad blogs, but I still feel compelled to leave a comment. I saw both January and Scott at the shoot for the website, as well as the casting sessions, so unless there was a live action shoot done for wild postings, I suggest that who ever made up this “media shit storm” do some fact checking. By the way the other AD on the project was recently featured on NPR…might be interesting to hear what he’s been up to.
April 22, 2008 at 5:11 am
Congrats Scott and Jan for founding someecards.com since the shaveeverywhere writer went on to start that company!
April 22, 2008 at 10:50 am
Where’s the maturity or objective journalism in talking about someones’ tattoo? This sounds more personal than factual, even the comments here are creepy.
April 22, 2008 at 12:54 pm
wowwww….haters….besides theres no such thing as bad press….
April 22, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Agency Spy is working very hard to lose what little credibility it has. These guys contributed to the idea. That means they worked on it. Give me a fucking break. I’d hire these guys.
April 22, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I am so disappointed at your race to drag some names through the mud. Does it kill you that Scott and January have it going on? I was at DDB at the time Tribal (3 floors up from DDB) produced shaveeverywhere. January and Scott worked intensively on the project. I’m sure it doesn’t surprise you that their work was the freshest DDB has had in a while, it’s no wonder Tribal pulled them in on this project–and that they ultimately left to work at a real agency that properly credits ideas. If you are finding discrepancies in who did what on this, why don’t you do a little more research instead of hating on the good guys and taking nabs at a tattoo. Sounds more like you wish you were as awesome as they are (and as young).
April 22, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Anytime someone compliments my work, I always say something like “Thank you, I was part of a great and talented team.” I say this even if i spent nights and weekends on it while everyone else slacked or actively got in the way. Because I believe it is true-we (my agency, and the human race) are all part of a team. Group hug!!!
The all-too-common creative arrogance in this industry needs to stop. Arrogance is a glaring sign of a very small mind.
April 22, 2008 at 2:36 pm
I’d hit it… twice.
April 22, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Holy Mother!! Are you people kidding me…I worked with Scott and Jan for a long time and they would NEVER take credit for work they didn’t do. I was there in their cube everyday looking at that the peach on Jan’s monitor, the wall and the floor. Let me tell you I couldn’t eat a peach for weeks after looking atit it for so long. Plus when it was time for lunch guess where these two were…up by Tribal! So tell me again they didn’t work on this ad. This is all BS. Someone just didn’t like the fact that these two youngsters got written up and are taking the AD industry by storm. Can you say jealousy???? I sure as hell can. Leave them alone. You’re looking at the future of this business. Who ever wrote the blog needs to get their head looked at…maybe they wish they were in the same place that Scott and Jan are in right now. Give me a fucking break already…i’m sick of people trying to knock down these kids just because they had the balls to go and make a name for themselves with WORK they DID!
April 22, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Look, clearly some people have come on here to defend these two, and that’s cool. Other than the Whale Tattoo, I don’t think Agency Spy is being outlandish. Everyone knows that was Tribal’s project. The fact that you did a single wild posting has nothing to do with the whole web experience.
If it wasn’t for the website, that campaign would have passed quickly. Agency Spy is just suggesting that the reporter was misleading, and maybe these guys should ask that that paragraph be redacted. It should have spoken about their work on a wild posting, not on the site.
April 22, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Whatever. I think the whale comment is the most important part of the article. That shit looks mad gay, yo.
April 22, 2008 at 4:32 pm
So many nasty little people here. These 2 did some work that got them noticed- someone’s jealous and now it’s snowballed. Stop blogging about how unfair advertising is and get back to work. And don’t use the term “mad-anything” unless you are from 1996, yo.
April 22, 2008 at 4:56 pm
It fell in their lap and they better enough to keep their mouths shut. And that (because of those antics) is why they will rise to the top.
April 22, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I happened to be working at DDB when they worked on this project. They worked their asses off. In fact, they spent countless hours and months up at Tribal. If they were just making wild postings, they wouldn’t be up there concepting with Tribal, looking at casting, or attending the shoot.
The only journalistic error was that they didn’t work at Tribal DDB. They worked at DDB. And they worked on this project with Tribal as a team.
Sounds like you need to re-evaluate your blog. In the mean time, maybe you can call them and ask them to show you the shiny lion they won for shaveeverywhere. Perhaps doing that will encourage you to stop being such a hater.
To Scott and Jan…Congratulations…and keep kicking ass.
April 22, 2008 at 7:12 pm
That’s telling them PacMan…screw all the haters out there. Jan and Scott rock and plus they know what their doing…..we’re gonna hear that Lion ROAR all the way down Madison Ave!!!!!!!
Great job BC and PC!
April 22, 2008 at 7:56 pm
“We’re gonna hear that lion ROAR”? Really?
So how many people here are just friends with these two? It’s cool if you are, they seem nice enough. God, it looks like the same person wrote all those pro-comments.
BC? PC? MC? What the hell is going on here?
April 22, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Can we please take all of the “I’d hit that” comments down. I’m a guy and I don’t even know these two, but have some class. That’s half the problem with this business too many “Ad Guy” pricks.
April 22, 2008 at 9:40 pm
In 1996, these two were 15 and probably claiming they coined the phrase “mad”, yo.
April 23, 2008 at 12:09 am
Agency Spy, maybe instead of standing on your anonymous soap box preaching about getting facts straight, you should check your own facts and wonder how credible your sources are. The only inaccuracy in the article is that yes, Scott and January worked at DDB, not Tribal. They were most definitely an integral part of ShaveEverywhere.com from briefing to scripts to casting and shooting. I say this as both a friend and former co-worker who can attest to their integrity as a creative team.
Your integrity, however, I question. Not only did you fail to check the credibility of your sources (perhaps someone bitter inside Tribal?), but decided to spew out gossip in the form of insider information. And the real classy touch was starting the whole thing off with condescending remarks and general bitchy-ness. Scott, your tatoo is hot…and I’d hit you both.
April 23, 2008 at 1:00 am
This topic lost its tiny meaning eons ago. Two pierced nobodies did an ok poster. Or they didn’t. Whipped shit on a stick. Since we’re talking ad-hominem why not speculate on Spy’s physicality. Or better yet, one of you lazy ad-bastards get a photo of her. Post it somewhere nearby. Then giggle like pervs as George Parkers masturbates to it. Or do you still want to discuss whether two drones did or did not work at Tribble Dibble?
The Closer
April 23, 2008 at 1:06 am
Let me explain a few things about how this biz works.
1) stir up a “controversy”
2) get lots of people to “comment” in outrage at your stupid suggestions
3) get paid for page views on your new media bistro site
Get a clue. If you are truly “outraged” take your page views and ad revenue elsewhere. Otherwise shut up and play the game sheep.
April 23, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Name required, why would you care if those two posters want to make love to Scott Ginsburg?
April 23, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I personally saw these cats working on the site around the clock. I wish the jackass that wrote this actually checked THEIR facts.
Aaand wtf with the whale tattoo commentary. I hope scott goes free willy on your ass.
BTW, be sure to check out Jovi this summer.
April 23, 2008 at 2:02 pm
@ Volture:
If you were there, then you would have a right to comment. But you weren’t - otherwise you would know.
Are you sad because you are washed up? That a team 20 years younger than you are taking the industry by storm?
Sucks for you. Starbucks is hiring.
April 23, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I asked the creative director and he said yea they worked on it along with a whole bunch of other creatives. Brook Lundy was the lead writer. He also said that the peach poster came out of DDB London. End controversy.
April 23, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I think the guy who wrote this is a disgruntled older person pissed off at his/her career and is jealous that they didn’t get any of the credit. I think they should just work harder and stop complaining.
April 24, 2008 at 2:28 am
two things.
one; you are slitting your own throat by making anonymous ad cowards like me register for anything before commenting. i read this for the comments. you’re a gossip column. that’s your edge. duh.
two: from personal experience, tribal ddb is carnivorous when it comes to taking credit for hits. they don’t get too many hits. and they loves them some PR.
but these are just kids. leave them alone. and that whale tattoo is cool. and that peach poster is def. ddb london. it’s in their lobby. or as they call it, ante-room.
April 24, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I am amazed that people still give a shit.
April 24, 2008 at 1:52 pm
@cowardly mccoward: I think it’s pretty lame that you can’t imagine that a digital agency would do something better than a general agency. Props to Tribal for doing the best thing Philips has ever done. That really pisses off DDB. I love it.
May 16, 2008 at 5:55 pm
So who did this KIWI poster then? Ran in UK mags.
http://commercial-archive.com/node/121208