Coors Light Solicits 'Free' Creative

It's official. Seeking free creative talent is now the norm. On the heels of Wieden and Kennedy announcing an ad "school" in which students pay for the opportunity to produce work for agency clients rather than the other way around, Coors Light, in association with Canada's Ihaveanidea.org, has launched its "Win the Wall" creative contest. The contest calls for creative submissions for a giant block-wide, seven story high building in Toronto. OK, so you don't have to pay for the privilege to be creative here. In fact, Coors Light will pay for two semesters of the winning entrants design school tuition.

This trend towards looking outside agency walls is both refreshing and worrisome. If advertisers felt they were getting effective creative, why would they look outside the agency creative department? However, there are millions of creative people that do not work in ad agencies. Why would a smart marketer not want to tap into that vast resource? It's the "American Idol" syndrome. Cast a wide net for talent and hope you reel in a winner.