The agency created it.
The client paid for it.
The consumer shares it.
The culture absorbs it.
So who really owns the ad?
Intellectual Property law says the rights usually belong to the party that commissions and pays for the work – the client.
Contracts are drafted to make this explicit: once the invoice is paid, the brand owns the idea, the script, the jingle, the artwork…
But ownership is far messier. Agencies argue that their creative DNA runs through every line and every frame and should years of craft be signed away with a single cheque?
Some global agencies negotiate carve-outs to showcase campaigns in awards, reels, and teaching, because even when the law says they don’t own the ad, they still live off the credit.
Take our Petronas’ festive ads. Legally, Petronas owns every frame. But ask Malaysians who those ads belong to, and most will tell you they belong to the rakyat – they are part of our cultural fabric.
People don’t recall the contracts. They recall the tears, the humour, the humanity. In the end, Petronas owned the rights, the creators owned the soul, and Malaysians owned the memory.
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