The White Stripes say the Air Force Reserve used one of their songs without permission in a Super Bowl ad, and that they are insulted their song was used to encourage recruitment during a war they don’t support.
The two-member band, which is originally from Detroit, said the ad made unauthorized use of their song “Fell in Love With a Girl.”
“The White Stripes support this nation’s military. … We simply don’t want to be a cog in the wheel of the current conflict,” the band said in a statement posted to its Web site.
“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.” They did not specify which war.
The Air Force Reserve, in a statement, denied the song was the White Stripes’ and said it had hired a company through its advertising agency to score original music for the 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,” the Air Force Reserve statement reads. “Any similarity or likeness to any other music is completely unintentional.”
The spot ran in selected markets, including Dallas, Las Vegas and San Francisco, during the Super Bowl telecast, said Mike Speciale, a spokesman for Blaine Warren Advertising, the Las Vegas agency responsible for the ad.
The White Stripes, who are known for their raw, garage-rock sound, provided links on their Web site to their recording of “Fell in Love With a Girl” as well as the ad so viewers could compare the two, but as of Tuesday afternoon, the Air Force ad wasn’t viewable.
“It was specifically produced for airing regionally during the Super Bowl in some local markets,” Speciale said. “It was scheduled to be pulled right after the Super Bowl. It was only a one-time shot.”
The Go Daddy Group Inc., which registers Internet domain names, pulled one of its Super Bowl ads for GoDaddy.com in the days leading up to the game because movie studios said it made unauthorized use of their films and the sides weren’t able to reach licensing arrangements.
In the ad, which the company still hopes to air, race car driver Danica Patrick, the star of a number of GoDaddy ads, plays the lead female role in parodies of the films “Weird Science,” ”Flashdance” and “The Seven Year Itch.”
Mindy Kaling and Kate Hudson Take On Pro Basketball In Netflix Series “Running Point”
In Mindy Kaling's new Netflix series, "Running Point, " Kate Hudson stars as Isla Gordon, the new president of the Los Angeles Waves, a pro basketball team that's been run by her family for years. Hudson's character has to prove herself as a woman in a man's world not only to her passed-over brothers, but also to players whose egos need checking and other executives who don't take her seriously.
If Isla's story rings a bell, take a look at the list of executive producers on the 10-episode season dropping Thursday: Among them is Jeanie Buss, the president of the Los Angeles Lakers, who was embroiled in similar turmoil over control of the storied NBA franchise after the death of her father, Jerry Buss.
Buss not only has given the show her blessing, it was her idea said Kaling. Buss was a big fan of "The Office" and approached Kaling with the premise about five years ago. Kaling ended up as the co-creator, writer and executive producer alongside Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen.
"She's in a very serious, stressful job but she loves comedy. She does not take herself seriously," Kaling says of Buss. "That's really rare when someone has that much power and that much to lose."
Jeanie Buss' blessing
In fact, Kaling said, Buss wanted the show to be funny and had "no ego" about using her real life as inspiration.
"She's had some extremely interesting things happen to her as the president of the Lakers. Some of it is she literally dated the coach for many years and she's like, 'Do whatever you want,'" Kaling says, referring to Buss' former relationship with Phil Jackson. "To get that kind of carte blanche, I'd never heard that from someone who is so famous and, you know, pretty private."
Shortly after the news... Read More