Uncommon’s Hiscox ad speaks to the power of branding

Uncommon Creative Studio has made the fairly dry subject of copyright law, fun. No, really.

Titled ‘The Most Disastrous Campaign Ever’, Uncommon Creative Studio's latest campaign for Hiscox playfully infringes on the copyrights of three iconic UK brands: Specsavers, Weetabix, and Cillit Bang. 

Of course, these brands are well known to creatives and the public at large, and the campaign repurposes their distinctive and much-prized, assets, including their brand colours and iconic taglines, to highlight the legal risks of copyright infringement

While the ads initially appear to be promoting Specsavers, Weetabix, and Cillit Bang, the mock-upturned corners of the posters reveal the campaigns to be from the copyright protecting business insurance company. 

Famous brand slogans are sacrilegiously subverted in the ads. "You should’ve gone to Specsavers" becomes "You should’ve gone to Hiscox". "Have you had your Weetabix?" transforms into "Have you had your Hiscox?" and "BANG! And the dirt is gone" is reimagined as "BANG! And Hiscox could help protect you".

Our take

If Kendrick Lamar is the rappers’ rapper, and David Lynch is the directors’ director, surely Uncommon are emerging as the creatives’ creative agency?

This recent campaign plays right into the palms of creatives, underscoring the importance of what we do: inventing untouchable brand assets.

Uncommon have taken a bold, subversive and humorous approach to a serious topic, engaging audiences and raising awareness about the importance of copyright protection through instantly identifiable tropes.