Postal Service Left out in Cold by Apple Ad Ripoff

They're not geniuses. Apple/TBWA messed up again. The blatant ripoff of the Postal Service's video was unauthorized and the band was completely unaware and did not receive compensation. Adrants points us to Adpulp pointing to a statement by band member Ben Gibbard on the Postal Service's website: "It has recently come to our attention that Apple Computers' new television commercial for the Intel chip features a shot-for-shot recreation of our video for 'Such Great Heights' made by the same filmmakers responsible for the original. We did not approve this commercialization and are extremely disappointed with both parties that this was executed without our consultation or consent." This isn't just indie bitching. The band and the label had to pay for the video. They spent months concepting and producting i, only to have it co-opted by a major corporation. As revealed by the many comments on this issue, some people assumed that it was the result of some backend cross-promo deal between the Postal Service and Apple, an assumption potentially damaging to the Postal Service's rep.  Any way you slice it, it's underhanded. Any way you slice it, it's created brand confusion, as Adreak notes, "More than 100 people have reviewed the video on iTunes, but a number of them seem to be confusing the ad and the video, leading one exasperated visitor to write: “Reading some of these reviews wants to make me punch myself in the face. ‘Making computers’??? Where in this video do they make ONE single computer? … Most of you need to stop writing reviews and start blogs instead.” No statement has been forthcoming from Apple or TBWA. We demand answers. Though, perhaps the answer is that TBWA is just a big piarate ship. An Adpulp commentor notes, "...Chiat has always been masters at hacking the obscure. Remember the Taco Bell Chihuahua law suit? Or "The Stuff of Life" campaign for Kmart? (Actually you wouldn't remember that because it was ripped straight out of a student portfolio and when the school threatened to sue Chiat, Chiat threatened to blackball every student graduating from that school)." Bad ass pirate ship or ship of fools? The market will decide.

Comments

[Ben Popken]

Nope, the couldn't. Nor do they want to. Nor do they want it for free.

[pwb]

The Postal Service couldn't buy this kind of publicity if it wanted to!

[Ben Popken]

So messed up. How long ago was the Kmart rip? Any links to supporting info?

[art director]

The thing about the Kmart campaign and Chiat is absolutely true. I know one of the students who created the campaign. Apparently the campaign was judged in a student competition by some Chiat creatives. Not long after, the campaign was run by Chiat, with no acknowledgement given to the students. Chiat had just blatantly ripped it off (lines, art direction, everything). When the school and student approached Chiat about it, that's when they threatened to not hire any student from that school ever again. So the school decided to back down. So lame!