Fold7 has teased John Lewis and its agency Adam & Eve/DDB after claiming similarities between their Christmas ad starring Elton John and a spot it made for Gumtree two years ago.
Gumtree's 2016 "Opportunity starts on Gumtree" ad shows a man looking at a piano on the brand's app while revealing how the purchase could lead his daughter to a musical career.
The agency claims it is similar to the John Lewis spot, the 10th Christmas offering created by Adam & Eve/DDB, in which viewers watch Elton John’s life backwards until the moment he received the piano that changed his life.
To highlight the resemblance, Fold7 has created a mash-up of the two films:
Gumtree even tweeted about the similarities just a day after the John Lewis spot was launched.
.@jlandpartners – "Here’s the new #JohnLewisAd."
— Gumtree (@Gumtree) November 16, 2018
Us – "Cool..."
Our brain -
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Us: This looks familiar... pic.twitter.com/J1e4kwlzEz
Ryan Newey, founder and chief creative officer, at Fold7, said: "We hope you don’t mind, we hope you don’t mind, that we put down in words, how wonderful it is, that you were inspired by our work.
"Hopefully, this mash-up strikes a chord with John Lewis and Gumtree customers alike."
Campaign has approached Adam & Eve/DDB for a comment.
