Independent ad agency Bang In The Middle called out former client Medanta, a healthcare provider, for utilizing the agency’s campaign idea now after having rejected the same when the two were in a partnership.
In a LinkedIn post, Bang In The Middle wrote, “We were their lead communication agency from November 22 to November 23. It wasn’t a substantial account, but we took it on as we have extensive healthcare experience. As it happens in many such relationships, the client thinks that they are lord and master and the agency a subservient slave. We presented many campaigns, most got rejected, some got translated into posts and executed by their social agency. Yeah, that is true.”
The post added, “Here’s where it gets interesting. One of the campaigns that the agency presented earlier and was spitefully rejected and thrown out, has now been raised from the dead and executed as is by the client.” and added, ” The same layouts. The same lines. The same art. The same everything. The people who once spat on it and threw it out, have now had a change of heart, done a complete volte face, and the campaign is now live on their pages. There are many questions here.” and added “One – if it was a bad thought, how is it now a good thought? Two – It’s the same team at the client’s, so how come they changed their thinking? Three – since they had rejected the agency’s campaign, how can they now gainfully use that campaign? Four – since the relationship has been terminated, how can the client pick up something that originally and intellectually belongs to agency? Five – isn’t this abject lack of professionalism, and doesn’t this smack of unlawful and unjust business practices?”
“We never wanted to take this legal or into public. But when we reached out to them to amicably settle this, they rudely told us to take a walk, and challenged us to do whatever we can, because they are a giant and we are but a pipsqueak. So what do you do when you have a problem like Medanta? Make it public and go legal. We have done both,” wrote Bang In The Middle.