The image in the ad was well known to them: A&L had developed it in 1994 for then-client Sun Microsystems.
The photograph in question is of a swimmer, who, with the help of some computer imaging, appears to be stroking his way along a blacktop highway.
The picture, it turns out, was originally created by the agency to show how Adobe Photoshop software could be used on a Sun SPARCstation, according to A&L new business executive Annie Jackson.
The photographer who helped A&L develop the image retained the rights to it, and apparently sold it years later. Both ads are shown here. A&L is keeping it all in perspective. “We’re always glad to see that others appreciate our work,” Jackson said.
–Kathy Tyrer
through the looking glass Good ideas never die, they just get recycled. The staff at San Francisco agency Anderson & Lembke was reminded of that recently when they saw a magazine ad for Aquafina, a Pepsi-Cola Co. product that had a familiar feeling to it.
