A washing machine manufacturer is under fire for recreating three photos from Design Army’s ‘Never Stand Still’ campaign for the Hong Kong Ballet. The Chinese company, Little Swan, initially posted their ripped off print ads on Sima Wiebo, China’s microblogging website, with this caption: Living life in steadiness, even in this ever changing world, Little Swan washing machines in all colors and shapes matches the new era, beautifully shaping our lives.
However, some users were quick to point out that the campaign was copied from the Hong Kong Ballet campaign released in May 2018. Not long after, it reached the Washington-based independent agency.
Here are the two campaigns side-by-side:
(On the left are Design Army’s campaign and on the right are Little Swan’s. Photos via Instagram)
“They say ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?’” captioned Design Army’s Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Pum Lefebure, on her Instagram post.
Little Swan has since taken down the campaign on Weibo. In its place is an apology to the Hong Kong Ballet indicating that it was merely “paying homage to the classic” and can punish its employees and their commissioned agency.
(A screenshot of Little Swan’s apology published on Weibo on January 31)
