The White Stripes Take on the Air Force (and win)

in consume, pop culture by faryl on February 10th, 20101 Comment

image credit: Sick Sad M!kE

Aside from the controversial “Focus On the Family: Tim Tebow” (aka, “So glad that, given the choice between ‘no abortion’ and ‘no abortion’, I chose ‘no abortion’.”) the Air Force recruitment ad was probably my least favorite of this year’s Super Bowl ads.

Politics aside, it just kinda sucked.

The one thing it had going for it was the catchy (albeit incongruous) tune in the background.

Wouldn’t have pegged the Air Force to be a White Stripes fan? You’re probably right -- considering the Air Force neglected to get the band’s permission to use “Fell In Love With A Girl” (video below) in their recruiting efforts.

The aesthetically-and-musically-gifted duo posted their objection to the song’s use on their homepage, beneath a side-by-side comparison of their song vs. the allegedly infringing ad, stating:

The White Stripes take strong insult and objection to the Air Force Reserve presenting this advertisement with the implication that we licensed one of our songs to encourage recruitment during a war that we do not support.

Lest their protest be interpreted as a lack of support for our troops, the band clarified that they

support this nation’s military . . . [but] simply don’t want to become a cog in the wheel of the current conflict, and hope for a safe and speedy return home for our troops.

White Stripes' statement as it appeared on whitestripes.com

The Air Force responded to the allegations with the following statement:

. . . the Air Force Reserve, through its advertising agency, hired Fast Forward Music of Salt Lake City to score original music for its commercial. There was never any intention to utilize any existing music or to sound like any music by the band White Stripes or any other musical performer. Any similarity or likeness to any other music is completely unintentional.

Mike Speciale, a spokesman for ad agency responsible for the ad, had this to offer in their defense:

It was specifically produced for airing regionally during the Super Bowl in some local markets. It was scheduled to be pulled right after the Super Bowl. It was only a one-time shot.

Perhaps not quite confident in Mr. Speciale’s plans to use the “one-time shot” defense approach, the Air Force has since removed the spot from their website. The ad is also not included among Hulu’s “Adzone” collection of Super Bowl ads, although I’m not sure if it was removed, or it wasn’t there to begin with).

For those who may have missed the ad when it aired (or for a second look), it can still be viewed here (on the Huffington Post ).

image credit: Paradasos

What do you think?

Blatant rip-off?

Coldplay-esque “coincidence”?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

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