Lego campaign from JvM based on single internet image?

Here it seems that once again internet research has paid off for a creative team. One of the oldest badlanders we have showed that Southwest airlines campaign used viral webfilms as their funny idea back in 2000, so researching on the web is pretty old-school. We saw the Lego = Minimalist Simpsons image at the design firm Tobias & Tobias blog in a post aptly named Pattern Recognition recently, and now we see it as an ad for lego from Jung von Matt.

No idea where the photograph comes from, nor when it was made, even Tineye.com doesn't know.

@pelles on twitter suggests that Street Fighter II – Abstract Edition, also seen on Something Awful who ran with the idea, might have been the inspiration.

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Anonymous Adgrunt's picture
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Remasteredaccountman's picture

The big question on this lego stuff from JvM. Does it matter where the visual came from - it's a modern idea for parents who see things differently :

http://remasteredaccountman.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/ninja-turtles-the-n...

rup's picture

Plagiarism is only plagiarism if you get caught! I wonder what it's like to be unable to come up with something creative and original all by yourself. Must be a sad life.

Juliet's picture

It would be fine to use ideas that were generated by other people and found on the net if we start to credit and pay the people for their ideas. Just like we do when we use a song or a photograph. And, if we can't afford the idea then we can't use it.

maik's picture

Thanks for this writeup. And btw, why is there no like button?

StevenL's picture

Don't think it was based on a single image

http://www.somethingawful.com/d/comedy-goldmine/abstract-pixel-art.php?p...

most of the visuals can be found here the rest are out there somewhere

I still really them.

Steve Westhoff's picture

A friend sent me a link to this page, said it looked like my brother's artwork. He has Wizard of Oz versions posted on his site
( http://web.mac.com/christopherwesthoff/Portfolios/The_Wizard_of_Oz_%26_S... ), but he originally did the Simpsons versions in solid painted blocks back in 2001. Also, creating silk screen prints of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Superman, Batman, etc. I believe Legos were his inspiration and original creation of the minimalist Simpsons. Whether or not these ad companies or the "Lego photographer" sniped the idea is unknown to me, but I figured I'd throw this info out there.

AnonymousCoward's picture
AnonymousCoward's picture

This is an old idea used in the videogame industry for years. since early 90s.

The fact that someone "stole" the old idea to try it with legos isn't that creative. And then lego taking it's own parts and doing it again with lego, isn't a huge theft.

inka's picture

i dont think its in appropriate to take the idea and refine it, because most of the people havn't seen the real image of LEGO arrangment...