Expect the unexpected
When my good friend Chris Barrow alerted me ( in his usual early morning email) to the existence of Absolute Dental in Co Carlow, Ireland I was naturally curious but totally unprepared for what I was about to discover- for, as it turned out, they had been equally curious about us.
Clearly liking what they saw, they have made minor adjustments to our logo and brand and used it for themselves without even mentioning our wonderful designer Sandra Tate.
Astonished? Yes
Angry? Yes
Over it? Getting there
It is hard to believe that there are those in our industry who would so blatantly take from others.
Chris has since aired the subject in his recent Confidence Club ezine dated 26th May 2009 and his wise words have helped a great deal.
The whole incident has reminded me to expect the unexpected, just when you think everything is perfect something comes from out of the blue and the more surrounded you are by great people the easier it is to deal with.
I hope the practice in Ireland do come to find their own identity and do the honourable thing however I will simply have the adopt a philosophical attitude in the meantime, and remind myself that imitation is the best flattery
Emma
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". Charles Caleb Cotton (1780-1832)
ReplyDeleteTo paraphrase Judy Garland, you folks are a first rate version of yourselves whilst the plagiarists are a second rate version of something else.
(If you need a good Irish lawyer I know one.)
Alun