BBDO and PHD Stole Dodge Ram Campaign From Fla. Shop, Suit Alleges

(MoneyWatch)  TMR Multimedia, a small Florida agency, claims BBDO and PHD stole from it the idea for Chrysler's Dodge Ram Challenge, which was advertised in late 2008 and early 2009.

• Download TMR v. BBDO here.

TMR owner Jay Schorr claims he presented a series of ideas for a reality TV show in which Dodge Ram owners competed in races and challenges showing off the trucks' toughness. After milking him for all the information about his idea -- including pricing -- over a series of phone calls, the two Omnicom agencies then broke off contact with him, he alleges. The next thing Schorr knew, he was seeing his ideas take center stage in Dodge's campaign:

The Defendants wanted to use those ideas without giving anything in return. And so they stole the ideas and passed them off as their own.

BBDO and PHD both filed responses to the suit denying the entirety of Schorr's claim. Such lawsuits are filed frequently and are usually meritless. However, in January Taco Bell ended up paying $42 million to the originators of the "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" Chihuahua after they demonstrated in court that their original idea had been taken by the client and developed without their permission.

Schorr describes his dealings with Chrysler, PHD and BBDO in detail in the complaint. He approached Chrysler with the idea in May 2008. On June 3, 2008, he spoke with Arlene Janks, a Chrysler senior manager/media marketing, he claims. He was referred to PHD's Lori Hiltz and Cindy Marshall, he claims. They discussed the project, and through July 2008 he also had dealings with BBDO's Marni Fruman. The idea morphed through two incarnations, one called "Let It Ride" and another titled "Pulling for America." In July, PHD asked him for all his pricing information on the concepts and then cut off all contact.

Schorr claims he next saw his ideas take shape "almost verbatim" as the Dodge Ram Challenge in ads during NFL games.

• Related:
• Adidas Used Trademarks It Didn't Own in Boston Celtics Campaign, Suit Claims
• Energy BBDO CD Maintained Pro-Rio Site as Omnicom Shops Toiled for Chicago
• BBDO Disavows "Nazi" Ad for Playstation 3
• BBDO, Saatchi Boycott Kancils After Riff-Raff Allowed Onto Jury Panel
• Too Early for BBDO Obituary on the Chrysler Account
• Taco Bell, Not TBWA, Liable for $42M Chihuahua Judgment