New Belgium responds to Work Labs’ copycat claims
Work Labs isn’t happy with what it sees as a rip off of its Work Beer concept by New Belgium (or technically, New Belgium’s creative agency). Here is New Belgium’s official response:
“Here at New Belgium Brewing we have always taken great pride in creating innovative, original communications to engage our audience. Shift Pale Lager is inspired by our twenty-plus year tradition of having a shift beer at the end of the day. The imagery and taglines are reflections of our culture and of the universal sense of accomplishment that comes from collaboration. Shift is our own original work and was created independently.”
Breweries: New Belgium Brewing Co.
Beers: New Belgium Shift Pale Lager
Those guys make good beer.
But the bullshit they produce, it seems, is even better.
This response to their blatant, two-fisted ripoff is as clueless as it is outrageous.
This reads as if IN-HOUSE staff at NB created and produced the ads. I don’t think that’s the case, and it sounds like NB is doing a “CYA” for the ad agency.
NB and the “other brewery” both need to find new agencies.
I saw the previous link with both of the ads side by side…. New Belgium DEFINITELY took heavy inspiration from this ad campaign, if they didn’t take all of their inspiration from it. The aesthetic, the layout and even the slogans are nearly the same. I agree with RFBeerGuy – they need to get a new ad agency.
RIP-OFF. Not sure how much more blatant they could be.
Backstroking at its finest. Shame on you NB. Fat Tire just doesn’t taste as good anymore.
Happens all the time in the marketing/design world. And equating a hard days work with beer is original? That’s the oldest cliche in the beer book.
Though I did get a laugh out of “”Fat Tire just doesn’t taste as good anymore.” Something is messed up with your tastes buds then.
“Something is wrong with your taste buds then”
If you liked Fat Tire in the first place then clearly you don’t have good taste in beer.
Dave – it’s one thing to be inspired by an idea or concept and taking subtle cues from which you retrofit into something you can make your own. Doesn’t apply here as it’s a direct lift in both design properties and copy writing. This is theft of intellectual property. Hell, even the can is a rip off of the Red Bull design aesthetic. This isn’t about a cliche Dave. Not even close. It’s stealing. If you can’t see that you’re either blind or stupid – perhaps both.
Said it happens all the time, and the original concept for either piece wasn’t that original. I didn’t write it wasn’t a direct rip. That was your conclusion, which then ended with me being blind and/or stupid for something I didn’t think in the first place. I also found your statement funny but I guess you didn’t see it. Ah well such is life.
Dave, it may happen “all the time in the marketing/design world” (I’m in that world, and don’t see it), but if I’m paying an ad agency tons of money, I would expect something unique. I could have my in-house people steal the art for cheaper.
It’s Cultivator Ads. They’ve got New Belgium, Great Divide AND Breckenridge Brewing on their roster! How in the hell is that not a conflict of interest? Do the marketing directors at those breweries not care?
Not buying it. Original work, my ass. And, in-house it is not either.
So Work Beer has a problem with the use of the phrase “For a Job well done”, a flow chart, and steam-punkish mechnical design that New Belgium has used for years? Oh, and a computer program that cleverly tells you its time to drink beer.
This seems like coincidence heightened by the use of cliches. I don’t look at either and thing “Oh man, drink a beer after work? How do they come up with this stuff?!”
@RFBeerGuy its definitely too close for my tastes too, especially if I had to pay an outside agency. People just seem to have gotten bent out of shape that I didn’t vehemently say “its a rip off and they should hang” (or something along those lines). I didn’t find the concept original in either creation and it all fell apart from there. I’d be ticked if an agency came back with the whole “drink beer after work” idea in general.
So was Great Divide the other brewery Work Labs references?
Enough commenting though… I think its time to organize a boycott! I’m pretty sure Rick is in… though this Mario guy seems not to be?
@dave, sorry, didn’t mean to jump on you! If you go to cultivatorads.com they have all 3 breweries listed on their roster. I would have loved to see the exchange during the pitch when the brewery people asked, “Umm, you already have 1-2 Colorado craft breweries on your roster. How will you give us the attention and creativity that we are paying you for?” Then the agency took them out for coke and hookers.
Mistake #1 copying work
Mistake #2 doing PR mess by denying the obvious. In the new world of social media you just can’t hide things like these.
…unless all Cultivator does is design work and no strategy elements.
@RFBeerGuy no offense taken (its a comments section to a beer news website, so…). Reading Cultivator’s website it is tough to tell if they do both design and strategy or just design. Also I believe you meant to write “Then the agency took them out for coke, hookers and craft beer.”
Bull-Shift
Yes, correct!
Love their products as well, although this Shift is way over priced at $10 for a 16oz-4pk. Their response it total BS. Suck it up, admit it and take your hit, or loyal customers may become disgusted with your particular corporate morality and move on to other products.
terrible agency for stealing and terrible beer company for lying.
whoa! 2012 and original ideas are still being copied. Come on guys. This beer didn’t even make it out of the starting lines. Old ideas need to be revamped and can sometimes, such as in this case, bring more awareness to a product that is available. It happens. I’m cool with conceding that it is a ‘stolen’ idea but it isn’t the first, and it won’t be the last.
Lots of good points above — especially from @RFBeerGuy and @ignacio. As an Art Director who worked alongside Cabell, Haley, Paul, Anne-Marie, Mike and Steve to create most of the Work Beer pieces being mentioned above (the first poster is in fact my piece) — I find the whole thing insulting on many levels.
I don’t doubt they thought of the idea of a ‘blue-collar workman’s beer’. That idea’s as old as beer itself. But Cabell did in fact approach New Belgium in the past with the idea of brewing Work Beer in collaboration.
And forgive me for getting all CSI/conspiracy theorist on this — but the Art Director listed at Cultivator Advertising, New Belgium’s agency of record — attended James Madison University outside Richmond from 97-02. Which is exactly when the bulk of our work was created.
I admit I may be too close to the situation. And I appreciate the idea of inspiration — but this is a blatent ripoff in my opinion.
Another Dave, if you did your homework, you would see that the AD that went to JMU doesn’t even do work for any of the breweries on Cultivator’s roster. I know you are trying to seek answers while we all wait to hear the real story. I’m sure the real story will surface soon enough. Until then I won’t drink any more of NB’s shitty ass beer.
@Another Cory, fair point. I let emotions get the best of me because I’m too close to the situation. It’s unfair of me to assume that AD did the work.
I’m just beyond frustrated that the question of stolen intellectual property is even in question here. These are direct lifts of copy, fonts, imagery and ideas. We worked our asses off to brand and launch Work Beer. And Cabell brought these pieces to New Belgium when looking for a new brewery, after Main St Brewing Co shut down. So I take their ‘official response’ as a slap in the face.