They stole our Pocky!

Instagram post claiming credit for the Share Happiness Tour - Dent's work.

We are currently witnessing the most outrageous act of credit stealing any of us have ever seen. It's unbelievable.

Unfair credit-taking isn't new. Whether on a LinkedIn profile, in a creative portfolio, or even in a meeting. It happens.

But this one is a doozy. A new low in credit stealing.

YouTube video of the award given for excellence in stealing credit.

We recently learned that another Los Angeles area agency has been claiming a campaign we concepted and executed as their work. They present it as a case study on their website, in PR, social media, and now their newest 2026 sizzle reel. All of it features our team and our assets.

That's right. Dent staff in the Miller Group marketing, advertising, social media...everywhere.

And apparently, they’ve been doing it for years.

We, Dent, created and executed the Pocky Share Happiness Tour starting in 2013. It ran through 2017. We conceived it. We produced it. We executed it. We have the contracts, design sketches, presentation decks, behind-the-scenes photos, tour videos, health permits...everything.

It doesn't matter what Bill Williams says in his interviews with AdForum or what the Miller Group puts in their portfolio on DesignRush. It's not their work. It's a shameless, bald-faced lie.

The Miller Group started showing this campaign as their work on their website way back in 2021, four years after the campaign ended. We know because the internet archive WayBackMachine shows it in the 2021 version of their website.

And in 2026 they’re still showing our work as theirs. On their current website. In their case studies. And now their 2026 Sizzle Reel.

We tried but could not find any work they did themselves. Nada. Zippo. Not even a social media post. It’s all our work. Our images with our staff from our events.

Unbelievable.

At this point you might ask, “Why didn't you say something before?”

Well, we accidentally discovered it earlier this year while searching for recent Pocky marketing. We were curious what Pocky's been up to lately. At the time we’d never even heard of The Miller Group. We don’t pitch new business, so we don’t really look at other agencies’ marketing materials. We stay in our lane. (And only show our work.) 

Perhaps the good news is that no one ever brought it to our attention, because, well, maybe no one we know saw it? Or maybe they didn't want to say anything. Who knows?

Anyhow, at that point we were wondering, how should we respond?

We started with through-the-roof rage. Who TF does that? Who takes credit for another's work like that? Why? Is your own portfolio of work that pitiful?

By the way, we assume the Miller Group did some work for Pocky at some point. They must have, right? But where is it? They don't have any work on their website except ours, so who knows?

Anyhow, what should we do?

Some say go straight to lawyers. Cease and desist. Sue. Lanham Act violation - which is ironic, charging an ad agency with false advertising.

Public shaming? Like this? Well, it's something.

Or maybe just call Founder and CEO Chief Renee Miller and talk? Well, we tried. Connected through LinkedIn, but she never responded to our request to talk. (We also reached out to the creative director who until recently featured our Pocky work and our employees on her website. She didn't respond either, but she's hidden that page now.)

Besides, of all people, CEO Renee Miller knows what they put on their website was not theirs.

So, what's the point of calling? They will probably just take down what they can, leaving the PR and other stuff out there. Besides, where does that leave us?

They've had this out there for years. How many clients and other agency folk have seen that? How many new business pitches did our work help them win? Probably not much or they would be showing that on their site now.

This was not an accident. It was not a rogue employee. This is in their current agency credentials including their newest sizzle reel.

So, we're still trying to figure this one out. We’re open to ideas. 

But only if they're your own. 😉

UPDATE

It's October 13, nearly seven months after this post was written and...

...someone took down the Pocky work from the Miller Group's website. (The creative director removed the Pocky work from her website months ago when we messaged her on LinkedIn.)

So, after months of having this post up along with our snarky YouTube short, it looks like the Miller Group is starting to cover its tracks. No acknowledgement of what they did. No apology. No response to our reaching out. Kind of embarrassing, right? We're wondering what made them start to cover their tracks.

Maybe it was the email we sent to Adweek last week?