The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2025
US law firm copied NZ's Cannes-winning road-safety ad — plagiarism backlash
The Barnes Firm copied NZ's Cannes-winning 'Mistakes' ad. Asked if the rip-off was appropriate, its marketing director was silent.
The Barnes Firm · 2025-08
What happened
In August 2025, The Barnes Firm, a US personal-injury law firm, launched a road-safety ad online and on TV that was 'essentially a carbon copy' of the 'Mistakes' campaign created for the New Zealand Transport Agency by Clemenger Wellington and produced by Finch. The original, which depicts two drivers stopping time to discuss an impending high-speed crash, premiered in 2014 and won a Gold Film Lion at Cannes in 2015.
The copycat ad lifted the same scene, structure and message almost beat for beat. When Ad Age asked the firm whether it was 'appropriate' to rip off the acclaimed original, marketing director Erica Burzynski did not reply. Production company Optic Sky, which helped produce the US spot, directed all questions to the client.
Ad industry outlets criticised the firm for plagiarising a celebrated public-safety campaign. Burzynski framed the ad as 'inspiration' drawn from reviewing road-safety work worldwide, and stressed that the TV spot was intended as a public-service message rather than a promotion. Neither Clemenger, Finch nor the New Zealand Transport Agency commented publicly at the time.
Why it happened
- The firm copied a celebrated campaign almost shot-for-shot instead of commissioning original creative
- The choice of source was doomed: 'Mistakes' was a famous Cannes Gold winner, so the copy was instantly recognisable to the industry
- The only public justification leaned on 'inspiration' while the marketing director dodged the appropriateness question
- For a personal-injury firm, whose pitch to clients is trust and credibility, a plagiarism story undercuts the brand it was trying to build
The lesson
Ripping off a famous campaign is not a shortcut — it is self-inflicted. For a firm that sells trust, caught copying the industry's most admired work is worse than a mediocre original.
Aftermath
The Barnes Firm stood behind the ad, describing it as inspired by and aligned with the original's public-good message. The backlash played out in the advertising trade press, with the firm's refusal to address the appropriation question becoming part of the story. The original New Zealand campaign retained its reputation as one of the most awarded road-safety films of its era.
Sources
spotted an error? The club wants to know.
More like this
DM9 won a Cannes Grand Prix with AI-faked results — then lost it, and two more awards
Peloton scrubbed its new campaign face after a resurfaced high school photo
Loma Vista dropped Marilyn Manson the day allegations broke — CAA followed next day
Somewhere, someone solved the problem this company failed at. 2nd Opinion →
Comments · 0
Sign in to join the comments.