Spot the similarities: Arnott’s accused of plagiarising Shapes television commercial

IT IS a battle as tasty as a Pizza Shape. A man has issued biscuit giant Arnott’s with an epic list of demands after the company “stole” his great idea.

A SPOOF ad for a “Cheeto cannon” is at the centre of a David and Goliath battle.

It all began on Sunday when YouTuber Zach Mander spotted an Arnott’s advertising campaign that “was a direct rip off” of his own ad.

Mander’s version, posted in July last year, is a spoof for a Cheeto Cannon, which shoots the delicious cheese-flavoured snacks through a cannon-like-device “to make eating on the couch less intensive”.

Arnott’s version, which was launched just two days ago, follows a similar line of thinking: massive cannon, add Shapes, flavour hit ensues.

“It’s a bold hit of flavour from Shapes,” the ad reads.

Arnott’s has denied the ad was a copy, but it was a bold slap in the face for Mander, who posted a YouTube clip in response. And it’s pretty funny.

“Seeing as the Cheeto Cannon is very close to my heart, I thought we should reach out and get a ‘please explain’ from Arnott’s,” Mander told news.com.au today.

“We’re not one’s to point scotch fingers, but we think that we have been ripped off. We are happy for Arnott’s to use our idea, as long as they abide by the conditions we set out in our video response.”

News_Rich_Media: Take a look at the new ad for Arnott's Shapes and the original Cheetos Cannon video. Compare the pair and decide for yourself. Did Arnott's rip this off? Courtesy Youtube/Stay Gold Pony Boy

The conditions include a lifetime supply of Pizza Shapes, four wagon wheels large enough to use as real-rims, a meet and greet with both “Tim” and “Tam” and the introduction of a “selfie” Tiny Teddy.

But Arnott’s has denied the ad, developed by Agency DDB, was a copy, claiming any similarities between the two are simply a coincidence.

“‘In Your Face Flavour’ as a concept lends itself to having flavour physically launched at the face, any similarities to other instances of food being flung at the face are purely coincidental and we don’t recommend you try this at home,” a spokeswoman said.

News_Image_File: Cheetos.

News_Image_File: Shapes.

But they did respond in jest to Mander’s demands, telling news.com.au they were “amused by Zach’s ingenious response”.

“Here at Shapes, we appreciate creativeness and the throw down of a challenge — we’d like to help facilitate Zach swimming in a pool of Shapes, we’re also currently seeing what we can do about a clock-sized YoYo and car-wheel-sized Wagon Wheels.”

The one sticking point?

“The Orange Cream is Arnott’s fifth most popular Cream biscuit and deserving of its spot in the Assorted Cream pack!”

Not so sure about that one.

Viva La Cheeto Cannon! #dontcheatthecheeto

— Zach Mander (@zachmander) April 8, 2014