This is a new ad for Mayflower, a moving and storage company in the United States. While I do really like this ad conceptually, it might seem very familiar to you…and that’s because it is. Much like yesterday’s post about Fighting Gravity, this is another case of a well-known puppetry concept being co-opted and passed off as an original idea. In this case, it’s very, very similar to a puppet from The Sultan’s Elephant by Royal DeLuxe (see previous post).

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of Royal DeLuxe’s original giant girl marionette (left) and the one in the Mayflower ad (right):

The giant marionette in the Mayflower ad was built by The Character Shop, a talented FX shop in L.A. that seems to have an unfortunate habit of co-opting puppetry ideas. They’re probably most (in)famous in puppetry circles for appropriating and trademarking the term “waldo” despite having not originated it. Still, giving credit where credit is due, this is a very impressive piece of work. The Character Shop has a couple of really in-depth web pages that explain their building process here and here.

I’m not a lawyer, but from a strictly legal point of view I don’t think the Mayflower marionette is a case of copyright infringement. The two puppets look somewhat different and the simple fact is that you can’t copyright the idea of a giant marionette. Giant puppets have been around forever and Royal DeLuxe’s original concept of a giant doll/marionette like this has been “borrowed” before, although in that case the ad agency involved at least acknowledged where the idea came from (sort of).

The real issue here I think is ethical. When are you taking inspiration from something and when are you simply ripping it off? Where do you draw the line between the two? I’m not really sure myself, but this certainly does feel like a bit of a rip-off to me. If I was Royal DeLuxe I’d have a bad taste in my mouth right now.

Special thanks to Bruce for spotting the Mayflower ad!