Production Company Falls on Own Sword, Cannes Officials Relieved

Epoch Films did the noble "right thing" Thursday, when it 'fessed-up to creating a fake spot for JC Penney that seemed to approve of teen sex.

Looks like the cease and desist order may not be in order after all.

The business pecking order works like this:
- a clent hires an ad agency, which it pays to create effective communications, in order to profit in selling its products to consumers,
- an agency has an idea for effective communications, gets client approval, and then hires and pays production company (with the client's money) to bring the idea to life - and hopes that the idea works so that they can continue their profitable relationship with the client,
- the production company completes its assignment and hopes to get another profitable project from the agency.

Yes, the Epoch Films of the advertising world are at the bottom of the food chain and in many ways simple "vendors," though the truth is that a great production company can make a good spot a great one.

In this case, Epoch Films may have taken the fall to protect their relationship with Saatchi & Saatchi. Or they could have taken the fall for S&S for the same reason.

My guess is that the blame is properly placed at Epoch's door. The spot was really well produced but had no real audience beyond Cannes Judges. There was no product consumer targeted - and that's the first thing that an ad agency should be thinking about.