Do you agree with Greg's sentiments here or do you think that he's in a position that he has to take this stance based on his job.

Well, that's a bit like saying do I want apple juice or peanut butter... Whether or not I agree with Greg doesn't mean he's necessarily taking this stance because of his job. On the latter, I don't think that could be further from the truth... I'm sure he believes that is true...he's a standup guy. As for what I think? Attempts at control or not, I think the cat is out of the bag. I do think they're trying to hook onto a hot thing... not sure if it is an attempt to hijack UGC or just that they know that users like contests.

Hi Andrew - My post isn't about putting the consumer back in their box and I'm not saying that consumers can't create good, compelling ads (they can, but they can also product unadulterated crap - just like agencies.) I think the "big agency guy' defensive posture would be that only trained professionals can make good advertising - that would certainly be in MY vested interest, but I don't believe this is true. In fact, the opinion expressed in my post is more than a bit anti-agency. In essence, if agencies are going to tap into the creative power of consumer content creators, maybe there are better ways to do it than simply asking them to make ads on the cheap. Like maybe brands can fund content creation efforts that are not ABOUT their products but are still consistent with their brand values; or maybe if marketers are going to use consumers to generate new ad ideas, why not pay them fairly (now there's a novel concept.) G