This Week in Advertising: Get Your Ripoff On

Operation Grand Theft Pomo is in the motherfucking house!

I've enjoyed many a Jamba Juice so I was disappointed to learn that their current marketing campaign features a blatant ripoff of David Rees's detournement classic Get Your War On. Rees, of course, is appropriating free stock images but the Jamba Juice campaign is not doing the same thing. They are appropriating what Rees does with those images, right down to the way he renders his word balloons. I have no idea how the case would hold up in intellectual property court and Rees says on his website he's not interested in legal action (only a boycott). But it's plain as day: Jamba Juice ripped him off.

Through the miracle of modern googling I learned that the marketing agency behind the Jamba Juice "Summer Bliss is Back" campaign is an LA shop called Neighbor. Their unintentionally hilarious website positions themselves as paragons of crunchy, earthy, green, do-gooder, one-world decency. According to their manifesto: "You get conscious, inspired, ethical, engaged, genuine, positive and purpose-driven work that grows your business and your people all the while making the world a better place." Ad man, heal thyself.