I’m in the gym locker room one morning and I overheard a conversation between two older gentlemen. The man I know — Mike — bragged that his son, the NASA engineer, was coming home to visit for three weeks.

“(His job) is very liberal with their personal time,” he said.

The other man responded with something about the space program having to suck up to President Obama and how he’s going to ruin that too.

“I meant his job gives him a lot of vacation days,” Mike corrected him.

“Oh,” the other man responded, obviously feeling a little stupid. Still that didn’t stop part of the locker room from turning into a political debate. Liberals on one side. Conservatives on the other.

Liberal. Conservative. I miss those words. According to Dictionary.com , “liberal” has 15 definitions including, “characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts: a liberal donor. “ “Conservative” has 11 definitions, such as “…having the power or tendency to conserve; preservative.“

That conversation had me thinking how much I hate it when people and organizations start to “own” words. Years ago, I wrote a brochure for Chevy Metro that included copy, “…it’s conservative when it comes to gas…” Today that translates to “Chevy Metro: Official Car of the GOP.”

I used to write for Jeep also. “Adventure” and “freedom” are words normally associated with the brand. My staff and I never used the word “escape.” We can thank Ford for that.

So what's the lesson here?

When you're creating ads for your portfolio, you want to make sure you're not writing or creating a look that makes the reader think of another brand other than the one you are trying to promote. You have to be vigilant to what's out there. Any day, some agency may launch a campaign that may resemble the one you made up. At that point, they own the words and the look. Your original idea doesn't look original anymore and you're going to have to swap it out. If they are produced pieces, you can make the argument that you thought of it first. Still I would look at the produced work with a critical eye. If it pales against the new campaign, you may want to replace it.

If you can't own the words and pictures, replace it with something you can claim.

That's why I'm a staunch independent. I’m still free to use all 22 definitions of that word.

Dictionary image courtesy of stock.xchng.