DPP campaign ad goes viral but draws plagiarism claim in Taiwan

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The DPP released its latest presidential campaign video "On the Road" on Tuesday (Jan. 2), though netizens noted it was similar to an animated film at the 45th Golden Harvest Film Festival by the same name.

The director of the DPP-funded short film, Lo Ging-zim (羅景壬), denied the accusation, saying the similarities are due to the cinematic techniques and dialogue associated with a "road movie." Lo said there was no intention to plagiarize, though the settings of both films appear to be similar, per UDN.

Lo's film has gone viral since its release days earlier, as 1.3 million people have viewed it on YouTube. If all of the views on social media platforms associated with Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and his running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), are accounted for, the total number of views has been estimated at more than 6.15 million.

According to CTITV and NextApple, some viewers commented that the film is similar to the 45th Golden Harvest Awards “Best Student Animation” directed by Hong Kai-xun (洪楷勛). Both films share a similar setting and off-the-cuff dialogue, as well as one scene when the car keys are handed over to the passenger.

Lai's campaign office issued a statement that the film director made the decision to make a typical "road movie" and followed a conventional narrative during filming. The film was inspired by his campaign slogan "Take the right path (走對的路)" and drew upon President Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) fondness for driving.

Conversations in cars are now common in movies, TV, and advertisements. Advanced technology such as giant LED screens that display landscape images allow passengers to be filmed in a stationary car.

Taiwan has access to such domestic studios in part due to the culture ministry's assistance for the film and television industry.

“Road movie” plots and techniques are quite new and innovative in political ads. The director of the DPP-backed film asserted any claim of plagiarism is unintentional.