When do you call it plagiarism?

Sometimes it's really hard to tell if our idea is truly original anymore.  Same idea different execution?  Different idea same creative strategy?  What we think of here today, is also thought by someone else somewhere else.  When the world was divided (read: world without the wide web), it was much more difficult to aggregate creative work.  Maybe it has been happening all this while, with or without the internet. It's just gotten a lot more in your face to watch your idea being executed with the most uncanny similarities on YouTube.

Watch this (Subaru, Japan, Dentsu Kansai, 2010):

And then compare with this (Audi, London, BBHLondon, 2011):



What if two different teams in two different parts of the world have the same idea.  Upon client approval, started executing it and at the end, one produced faster than the other.  If you were the one in the midst of production and so happened on a beautiful hummingbird chirping morning clicked, and watched in horror the same idea being executed in another part of the world.  What would you do?  Would you stop the commercial and burn the money?  Or would you proceed and bear industry mockery after you launch the campaign, even though you could have been the one who conceived the idea wayyyyyy before the other team?  It's such a subjective and grey area.  So if this was the scenario, and the team which was able to launch the commercial faster, subsequently submit it for awards, will of course stand a higher chance of scoring it.  Do you see the fundamental problem here?  What this essentially means is, the metal is awarded to the team who executed the campaign first.  It has nothing to do with WHO conceived it first.  It's based on speed that kinda stems from a lot of luck.  Would this be an industry problem?  Do we close one eye and pretend this is not happening?  What is the implication on us anyway?  And more importantly what is the implication of this on intellectual property and creative thinking?

Good question.

Subaru Australia.

Global promotional content is now travelling across borders in lightning speed. This ad really gives me a different perspective of Subaru. A huge cry of difference between the Australian and Malaysian market. Question: Is this good or bad for the brand?



I think I'd still prefer an action-packed film for the good old Subarus as we know it ;)

Test drive - Subaru Impreza S-GT 2.0 Turbo.

After hearing so much about the Subaru Impreza, I finally got around to test drive one. Because I vowed I would test out a Japanese turbo following the GTi. And the verdict is. Overated? (Ya, I'm sure it would have been a much different experience if it was the 2.5 WRX but it wasn't available for test drive anyway).

Although, I'm no auto-junkie and perhaps don't know as much about turbocharged cars as all you too fast too furious (self-proclaimed or not) automotive gurus out there, but comparing a 2.0 to a 2.0, the Subaru Impreza failed to impress. Don't misunderstand me, the pick-up and drive was very smooth except for some delay in the vehicle's response (due to the 4WD perhaps?) but it was a little too... smooth? It felt like a more powerful Civic 2.0 with a slightly harder suspension. It felt... Japanese.

The S-GT serves a maximum output of 250PS at 6,000rpm versus 200 at 5,100 from a Golf GTi. Although on paper, the 50 extra horses seem impressive but when it comes to the real drive, it should equal out since the S-GT needs to send power to all four wheels instead of the usual two. Also, I think what breathes life into the GTi is the 6-speed Direct Shift Gearbox which is a dual-clutch automated manual gearbox that allows faster-than-split-second shifts between the current and the next pre-selected gear, while the S-GT's SPORTSHIFT is a 4AT that during sports drive, some power is inevitably lost due to shifts delay. I think most sporty-positioned vehicles come with paddle shifters these days, but I still prefer stick shifters. Somehow it just feels more... 'authentic'. I don't know if the Subaru has better fuel consumption (I reckon, if you're on sports mode, you don't really think about saving fuel, do you?) especially when it's an all-wheel drive vehicle. But comparing kerb weight, it is lighter than the GTi though which really makes me wonder how much difference in terms of stability, does it make for both vehicles to be running on 200km/h.

What surprised me was, I was half expecting a less-than-comfortable ride with suspension that will tone up your bum over every bump. But the Impreza is really, and I mean, really comfortable. In terms of seat support, I think it's more comfortable than the GTi, for long drives especially. And also, apparently the back passenger seats are longer providing more comfort and support. GTi's shorter, so you get legroom but not the same comfort. Well it depends. If you don't intend to take passengers (which I don't plan to), then...

The interior trim is minimal. What you see is only what truly needs to be there, functionally. Therefore the GTi outruns it in terms of functions and features. The only funky part of the S-GT is the Clarion audio system which glow changes colour. So you get this rainbow glow in your car at night. Hmm. Not sure about that, but hey. It's funky. The overall feel is a little plasticky and I think all Japanese makes purchase their door panels, buttons and knobs from the same supplier. They are exactly the same panels, buttons and knobs. For a hefty RM185k, I think you'd expect something more... substantial?

All Subaru cars have a Horizontally-Opposed engine mounted which they call the Subaru BOXER, which is supposed to stabilize the car further, especially during high speed due to the 'symmetrically-positioned pistons that would counteract each other to cancel out engine vibration'. It was raining quite heavily during my test drive, so although I still managed to hit 160km/h comfortably but I wasn't able to really push the car during corners to test if it sticks as well (hey, with 3 other passengers with me on wet tyres, I'm not that crazy, you know). Just for your info, the Subaru clocks in 6.0s from 0 to 100. The above is the Subaru BOXER from WRX not S-GT.

I'm not exactly sure where this car fits into the people's purse, but it's very niche. Extremely niche. They only sell less than 20 units for the entire year. That's how niche. But all in all. It's been a pleasant experience. For me and one of my more enthusiastic passenger, the drive was considered... boring though. For something in this category. I don't know. Seems like all turbo cars are getting more and more refined. News has it that the new Mk6 GTi will also be more refined with improvements on the suspension in order to put more comfort back to the performance driving experience. More like a BMW thing, isn't it? While everyone says that BMW is passe because they've forgotten what the ultimate driving experience is all about but you have to admit that, they are still the first to put this refinement back into their sporty mass models. And everyone else is still following? If you want the ultimate driving experience. Get an M car.

Can your Subaru do this?

Wiki's definition: Gymkhana events are time/speed events (for our purposes here) in an automobile. There can be obstacles such as cones, tires, and barrels. The driver is expected to maneuver through the predetermined "track" performing many different driving techniques. What separates gymkhana from your traditional autocross event is that in gymkhana drivers are required to perform reversals, 180 degree spins, 360 degree spins, parking boxes, figure 8s and other advanced skills. Also drifting is encouraged where helpful/necessary. Really though, you can consider any event a Gymkhana which has a starting point, a finish line and some sort of "obstacle" to get through, around, or by, and is timed.

I must admit, this 2-million-over-viewed video is. Inspiring. Makes you wanna do your car right now. I'm wondering how many times they took to retake certain scenes (i.e 2:14 and 3:14) which really, really, really stop your pulse momentarily because 1cm makes all the difference. However, having said that. As cool as the video gets, I think they can do away with certain 'Bollywood-ish' scenes. I mean, the skirmish thing and the explosion... didn't quite do it for me. Guess they imported a little bit too much drama from the 'yo-yo-yo-oversized-pants' community. But yea, don't get me wrong. Ken Block is cool, the stunts are stunning, but the drama? ... Let's keep it real yo.