Fasttelco Copies Apple’s Mac Vs. PC Ad
I remember when fasttelco started, they had a different logo and corporate identity that the one they have now, The had to change it because of copyright disputes over their logo at that time. Apparently the have replicated a logo of another existed telecom company elsewhere in the world, then the company found out about it and fasttelco had to change it ..
If it tells something is tells that their marketing department didn’t even make the effort to create or hire someone to create an new logo for them at that time, or may be ( if we want to give them the benefit of the doubt) they hired a design company to do a logo and they replicated an existing logo and fasttelco didn’t know about it ( which in this case isn’t fasttelco’s problem) ..
This happened a long time ago when fasttelco started, but the thing that brought this up to my mind today is a new ad for fasttelco in today’s news paper .. They simply copied the most famous Mac and PC guys apple ad and just added a Kuwaiti Twist to it .. Given the popularity of the mac and pc guys ad, I don’t think that they didn’t know about it this time ..
They simply copied it, which got me into thinking is it OK for Kuwaiti companies to keep copying ideas like that? are they too lazy or not creative enough to even come up with ideas for ad campaigns ?
MrMMM on August 14th 2007 in Technology
Fasttelco Copies Apple’s Mac Vs. PC Ads at 2:48AM [The B-Sides] responded on 14 Aug 2007 at 12:10 pm #
[…] losers! [Link] Filed under: Information, Kuwait Posted by Mark on 08.14.07 | Related […]
Bashar responded on 14 Aug 2007 at 12:40 pm #
You know, I was about to call you this morning about that ad
Pretty obvious. But hey, they are taking Steve Jobs advise:
“good artist copy. Great artist steal” So far they are only good :).
Innovation is great, but once in a while a new idea comes up and does great that it becomes a standard. Many similar ads have shown up, most I liked was Ruby ones
Bashar responded on 14 Aug 2007 at 12:42 pm #
Just for the record, I am talking about Ruby on Rails not the dancing lady!
MrMMM responded on 14 Aug 2007 at 3:06 pm #
LoL .. Well they did stead, but I wouldn’t call them great for that ;p
hmm and you’re right about the fact that the idea of this ad by Apple was so innovative and it inspired a lot of other ppl .. But the Ruby guys were imitating it in a way that it’s obvious and it wasn’t an ad for a product or a service .. it was a nonprofit thing ..
But fasttelco guys copied the concept for an ad campaign for a commercial service which is different and we didn’t see it before ( we didn’t see microsoft or any other company copy the same thing) it was just The Ruby Guys ..
“Just for the record, I am talking about Ruby on Rails not the dancing lady! ;)” LooooL
zaydoun responded on 14 Aug 2007 at 6:33 pm #
None of you commented on the arabic quote by the supposed “loser” in the ad
الخمطة بربع
HILARIOUS!!
nxman responded on 15 Aug 2007 at 3:13 am #
Fasttelco is the most expensive ISP in the world!
MrMMM responded on 15 Aug 2007 at 9:17 am #
Zaydoun:
It is hilarious
And it’s actually the only creative thing they came up with in the whole ad ..
nxman:
Not only they are expensive, but they have a misleading pricing policy too ..
Don Quixote responded on 15 Aug 2007 at 12:37 pm #
For those of you who are new to the ad business and thin Mac invented the wheel, please check the below link
http://www.scootinger.net/2007/02/20/im-a-pc-and-im-a-mac-circa-1996/
shwing responded on 15 Aug 2007 at 9:40 pm #
i dont think it is a copy at all….think about all the “close calls” for copying one another this one is not really all that close at all. The only reason many think it is bc it is in Technology and features a comparson between two identities > MAC vs PC is Uptight nerd vs hip young smart The FT add is respectable vs loser…. The add is ok..nothing to write about…but here we are.
Very.Q8ya responded on 26 Aug 2007 at 5:32 pm #
wallaaain.. baskom taQleed baSkoooooooom =/
Morbid Curiosity responded on 26 Aug 2007 at 8:12 pm #
To be honest, with some of the ads I see out there, I think there are companies that are better off borrowing an idea from the big boys rather than violating my senses with their really bad advertising!
MrMMM responded on 27 Aug 2007 at 3:57 am #
@Don Quixote:
Interesting findings, Looks like u’ve located the main source .. But let’s say that Apple took the idea from that magazine article, they still modified and improved it significantly, but in fasttelco’s case only the clothing is different ..
@Shwing:
there’s an uneven split between ppl about whether it’s a copy or not, and most of the ppl who saw both ads agree that it’s a copy .. There might be a chance that it’s not a copy if both ads were used at the same time, but the timing and fasttelco’s history ( the similar case with the logo mentioned in the post ) is what makes us almost 100% sure that it’s a copy ..
@Very.Q8ya:
Some ppl say it’s because the marketing department and ad agencies are not creative enough, and some might argue that apple’s ad was soooo goood that it’s ok for ppl to copy it :/ !
@Morbid Curiosity:
“rather than violating my senses with their really bad advertising” you got that right !!
But I still wish that they can create ads inspired by the big boys rather than copying them ..
Don Quixote responded on 27 Aug 2007 at 9:34 am #
Dear MrMMM,
Thank you for your comments.
I have so far agreed with the group that saw the ad as a copy. However, and as I mentioned earlier, I do not think it is a poor one. I am sure you would agree that as critics we should dig a little deeper into the components of the ad. Creating a “BUZZ” is one of, actually, the most important part of any advertisement. MAC’s ad made me laugh, however it did not create a BUZZ. (That’s why we call it Mac vs. PC ad, it doesn’t have a name). On the Other hand Fasttelco’s ad made me laugh and it also created a BUZZ, ” خمطة بربع”, This is what people will remember. This is the BUZZ. I definitely give credit to whoever dug deep into the culture and came up it. Additionally, making a funny video is not very hard, but creating a still photo that triggers emotions is a bit more difficult.
Another example of a BUZZ is NBK’s Yabeela, however, it did not trigger any emotions and two years down the road I find it irritating.
” خمطة بربع ” will always make me laugh, with or without Fasttelco!
MrMMM responded on 30 Aug 2007 at 6:55 am #
@Don Quixote:
and I thank you for your expert comments ..
You are more than welcome
I agree that we should give them credit for using the informal funny phrase “الخمطة بربع” in an ad like that, it made it funny and will make ppl remember it .. we are starting to notice this trend in a lot of ads ( it might have started with NBK’s ‘Yabeela’ ads), using informal Kuwaiti slang language in the ads make the company connect better with the demographic they are targeting ..
Ali Deera Chat responded on 21 Sep 2007 at 4:11 am #
hahahaha yeah noticed that … i guess thats we kuwaities are good at copying people!!!