By Cliff Peale
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Northlich, Greater Cincinnati's largest advertising agency, will keep one of the winning commercials in last month's ADDY awards out of regional and national competitions.

Northlich discovered that its commercial, an anti-smoking spot that features a mother inhaling and then her daughter exhaling, was nearly the same idea as a commercial designed by a South African advertising agency in the late 1990s.

Normally, the ad would automatically be presented in future competitions.

Northlich president Rick Miller said the agency did not copy the South African commercial and developed it as part of a comprehensive campaign.

But it will keep the commercial out of the contests to avoid the appearance of impropriety, he said.

"It's not about an award," Miller said. "It's about the work that will help save lives."

The commercial is running in Ohio markets - and will continue to, Miller said. It was developed for the Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation using the proceeds from Ohio's share of the national settlement agreement with tobacco companies.

A Northlich competitor noticed the similarity when the commercial was shown during the ADDY competition Feb. 21 in Oakley. Alan Gee, executive creative director of Gee, Jeffery & Partners, the Toronto agency that operates an office in Cincinnati, had seen the ad that ran in South Africa.

He said there often are coincidences where ads are similar.

"I think the advertising industry does pride itself on being original," Gee said. "But the resemblance here is absolutely uncanny."

E-mail cpeale@enquirer.com