Cool new agency model? Or just a way to rip off creatives?

I'm not a big fan of crowdsourcing.

It just seems oily somehow. But companies like Victors and Spoils (who are responsible for the new Dish TV "Astronauts / Space" spot) and Genius Rocket (locally) are making a business of it.

Just seems to me that any operation that takes the whole spec work concept to massive levels is kind of a rip-off for creatives. Of course there will be plenty of really talented people who are either unhappy at their current jobs, could use a little extra cash or are between positions who will probably make it work.

But it just comes across as taking advantage to me. This is what Adfreak says: "So this is how crowdsourcing is going to work. Creatives across the industry are going to work under the table for other agencies and forgo credit. We'll see how long that lasts when Victors & Spoils begins to accept awards on behalf of the anonymous creatives that actually did the work." (Emphasis mine.)

It also seems to have the potential to lead to some very uneven work for a client.

Then again a client who says: '“Every day I would open up my email and there were 20, 30, 50 new slogans from all these creative people.”isn't really looking to pay for quality, I don't think. Just volume and low cost.

Gonna go home now, but I think I'll read over their agreements a bit more closely and have more to say.