Coffee shops don’t let you taste an entire coffee unless you pay for it. Can you consult multiple lawyers for legal advice and then pay only one? Do architects hand over their designs and blueprints unless you hire them? Then why are designers and agencies required to showcase free speculative work (‘spec work’) as part of the creative bidding process in new business pitches?

To highlight this issue, Toronto agency Zulu Alpha Kilo created a hilarious video for Strategy Magazine’s Agency of the Year event. It shows a ‘client’ asking for spec work from architects, personal trainers, restaurant owners, etc. (real, not actors). Watch the video to see their reactions.

FYI, Zulu Alpha Kilo have made it a policy not to do spec work and haven’t done a pitch that requires spec creative in the past five years.

Here’s a nice animated video by Topic Simple that explains what spec work is all about and reasons why you should say no to it.

What’s your take on this issue? Share this post with your agency and voice your views in the comments below.



