Obey William Penn
Even if you’ve never heard of Shepard Fairey’s name (and who hasn’t at this point?) you know his work from the iconic Obama “Hope” poster. The graffiti artist is the hottest thing in the art/design world, and with Web sites devoted to copying him. It was just a matter of time until a company tried ripping off his style, too.
But I would have never guessed the first Shepard Fairey wannabe is Quaker Oats. The company wasn’t founded by the original Quakers but it might as well have been. The oatmeal has been served for more than 125 years and it’s never broken with its wholesome, peaceful Quaker image. Heck, its biggest ad campaign featured Wilford “Diabeetus” Brimley before he was ironic-hip.
That’s why Quaker’s new campaign, titled “Go humans go,” feels so out of place. It’s reminiscent of Fairey’s 20-year art campaign “Obey Giant.”
Like the phrase “Obey Giant,” “Go humans go” also gives a short command. Fairey shows an extreme close-up of Andre the Giant’s face, while Quaker shows an extreme close-up of William Penn a “man dressed in Quaker garb.”
Quaker Oats was bought by Pepsi in 2001 and that brand has already shown an affinity for plagiarizing other logos. I can see the rationale: Oatmeal is suddenly hip, Fairey is suddenly hip, so let’s combine the two! But the reason oatmeal is popular right now is not because it’s artsy. It’s because it’s cheap. Quaker better not forget that.
