Goodby Ripping Off. . . McClain Finlon?

To be fair, I don't know who is ripping off who here. Of course, it's also possible that it could all be a coincidence - a freak occurance that defies the laws of man and nature, like Tunguska blast of 1908 or Paris Hilton's celebrity.

Anyhow Goodby, has done a print ad for Ace Hardware showing a tiny Ace salesman hanging on a tool rack. (The headline: "Good advice is the best tool.")

Then, if you visit the website of a good yet somewhat obscure Denver agency named McClain Finlon, you'll see an ad for Xcel Energy Repair Care showing. . . a tiny repairman hanging on a tool rack. (The headline: "Very handy appliance repair.")

It's shocking how alike the visuals are. Like I said, I don't which ad came first. All I do know is that I had bookmarked McClain's site a couple of years ago (why, I don't know) and that it doesn't seem to have changed much since then - whereas I think the Ace ad is a relatively recent addition to Goodby's canon.

If it Goodby did rip off McClain, it makes you wonder. I mean, first Mad Dogs and Englishmen, then McClain. Who's next? Joe's Advertising Shack?