Why do some CDs take your ideas/concepts and make the work without you? Like you’ll present a mood board with clear directions and write ups. They’ll pick one and say “oh this direction is cool” and then 3 months later you find out that they’re shooting the idea, story boards have been made etc.

Is that okay/normal at a Senior Level? Or any level?

This is extremely normal at large and medium holding co shops. Remember you don’t own the idea, the agency and eventually the clients do. Most of the time what happens is there is no budget to send a creative team plus a CD or a CD team. In the end the CDs are the ones directly in the firing line if you f up a production. So that’s why they go and TBH, creatives shouldn’t be going on a shoot by themselves without at least 10-15 productions of varying sizes by themselves. Now I’ve been fortunate enough to have never had to do this. I always fight to get at least one member of the creative team there. I usually sell it through as education and training for the team and have had to sacrifice staying at some swanky LA hotel for a Holiday Inn by the airport to make it happen. Most CDs won’t do that though. While it’s not right for building a great team, it’s also not wrong.

Let’s be clear - the OP should have known why another team took over the idea. But the truth is, creatives do sometimes come up with an idea they can’t fully land. After a couple tries, as an ECD I may have them work with another team to help them develop the idea fully. Some creatives simply can’t SELL their work to the client. Then i need to do it or have another CD do it. The work STARTS at the idea. It has a long road to go to get developed, sold, finished and produced.

No, that’s not normal, or cool. It is however, a thing that happens with bad CDs.

That is absolutely not normal. A completely unacceptable way to lead. Allowing people to have ownership over their ideas gives them the space to grow and learn. Stay away from insecure CDs who pull stuff like this.

Yep. Happened to me a ton. It’s trash CD behavior.

It’s what bad/weak/talentless/insecure/desperate CDs do.

that’s BS. Sometimes you get told to take over work or that the team can’t go on a shoot but I always fight to include the team. In the rare case both happen, I still make sure the team gets the credit and as much exposure to the process as possible. Only hack CDs do what you’re describing.

So you presented and they liked it, and then what happened? You were taken off the project? Or are you saying they used your idea on a completely different brief you weren’t on?

Lame

if this is really happening to you 1. just put the work in your book if it’s truly your ideas and pitches 2. you should def bring this up with them or another person you trust at the agency and see if you can be included on execution/production moving forward

Taking advantage of you

This happened to me once as an int. I remained calm, but professionally exposed the CD in the coming months after it was all finished. If they want my brain, the company will need to support my growth in executing the vision until the last drop. Never happened again.

Interesting on the production side as well. A CD took an idea that my studio presented in their treatment and used it with another studio. So frustrating.

Sounds like a terrible CD. Story time bc I've been there!!! As a Sr. Copywriter at my last agency, my (newly-ish hired) CD would completely change ideas and scripts behind my AD and I's back with no other feedback, constantly leaving us blindsided in presentations... One time, we were going into a meeting with the big boss to go over scripts that I had written. I had a meeting right before that one so I sent my deck to the CD for any last minute revisions/notes. When I got to the meeting and started presenting my scripts, I realized they were not what I had written AT ALL. Like, not even close. A little worse, to be honest. I stopped presenting and said, "Yeah, I didn't write these. Since you changed so much you can present them instead." Thankfully this had happened before so we learned to make copies of every deck so we'd at least have our originals... lol. I can assure you that is NOT normal and NOT okay. Bring it up to them or someone you trust because you deserve to learn and grow and get YOUR ideas produced.

I created a concept for a pitch which made it to the client, it went into market research, but unfortunately it did not make it out, but went pretty far. Months later I come to find my concept tweaked with copy and brand differences in a pitch deck by a completely different creative team under our shared SVP CDs and to make it worse it was for a completely different client. When the concept was picked and made it through their market research I raised the question. What if it makes it through and the original client sees this ad concept out in the world and rightfully raises a red flag. They all looked at me like deer caught in headlights and no one had a good answer to justify it. Bad CDs starting from the top.

They shouldn’t be doing that.

You got paid for your time. Touch grass. This is a job. Not a life style.

I wrote a radio spot and left it with the CD to review (on his desk). I was told they could no longer afford to keep me as a freelancer. I was bummed, but accepted it. Literally, the next week I heard my spot being aired with maybe one or two word tweaks. I was pissed!

That’s crazy. I’ve seen timids attempts at this but never like you described.

Seems to be the way more and more agencies are going these days...