The Fearless Blogger

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?

or

Coldplay-esque “coincidence”?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

A company’s culture carries a lot of weight for me when making purchasing decisions – especially for service-related products.

I saw this ad on Daring Fireball and it cracked me up.  I’m not even in need of a web host and I couldn’t resist clicking the link.

On the downside, I’m not sure I’ll remember the name (Fused Network, by the way).  But I’ll definitely remember the ad.

(Just a friendly word of caution:  Clearly someone should look for more than just a good personality when selecting their web hosting provider.  That said, a good personality is a definite plus!)

Even running out of gas can be fun!

Volkswagen believes there’s a simple way to change people’s behavior: fun.

Thefuntheory.com, an initiative of the company, is a site that’s

dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.

Based on the outcome of the experiment captured in this video, they just might be right. (Oops! Hope that wasn’t too much of a spoiler!) I especially like the parts with the dogs and when Macaulay Culkin* takes a picture.

Piano Stairs

”Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator and feel better” is something we often hear or read in the Sunday papers. Few people actually follow that advice. Can we get more people to take the stairs over the escalator by making it fun to do? See the results here.

*or someone who resembles Macaulay

From TheNextWeb.com:

To launch a new deodorant in Uruguay, the Lowe Ginkgo agency in Montevideo created an ad of such genius, even Bill Hicks would be impressed.

You open up a magazine, browse as normal, flickering through the ads as you do until you come across a quite simply gorgeous blonde with blank white spaces around her naughty bits.

What happens next?
Read it at The Next Web:  The Incomplete Ad. (This is Genius).

From: The Next Web (click image for full story)

A quick lesson in the importance of choosing the right name
taught to us by four-year olds!

A new Cornell University study shows that giving vegetables catchy new names – like X-Ray Vision Carrots and Tomato Bursts – left preschoolers asking for more.

When 186 four-year olds were given carrots called “X-ray Vision Carrots” ate nearly twice as much as they did on the lunch days when they were simply labeled as “carrots.” The Robert Wood Johnson-funded study also showed the influence of these names might persist. Children continued to eat about 50% more carrots even on the days when they were no longer labeled. The new findings were presented on Monday at the annual meeting of the School Nutrition Association in Washington DC.

via Eat Your Vegetables: Preschoolers Love Vegetables With Catchy Names Like ‘X-Ray Vision Carrots’ And ‘Tomato Bursts’.