The Black Keys are not shilling power tools or pizza, the band said in copyright infringement lawsuits against The Home Depot and Pizza Hut.
The “Lonely Boy” band filed the federal lawsuits Thursday, claiming Home Depot did not have permission to use elements of the hit song in an ad promoting power tools and that Pizza Hut misused “Gold on the Ceiling” in a recent ad.
Both songs appeared on the rock group’s seventh album, “El Camino,” which was released last year and has sold nearly 840,000 copies. The Black Keys are comprised of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. Musician-producer Brian Burton, who is known as Danger Mouse, is also suing the companies.
“The experts confirmed that this was copyright infringement,” band spokeswoman Mary Moyer said in a statement.
The cases seek unspecified damages of more than $75,000 apiece and an order preventing the continued use of the songs in the commercials.
“We haven’t seen the complaint yet, but respect for intellectual property rights is a matter we take very seriously,” said Home Depot spokesman Stephen Holmes.
Pizza Hut spokesman Christopher Fuller said the company also hasn’t seen the case, but fully respects artists’ rights. He directed inquiries to the ad’s creators, The Martin Agency and The Interpublic Group of Companies.
A Martin Agency spokesman said the company doesn’t respond to pending lawsuits, and a spokesman for the Interpublic Group of Companies was not immediately available.
The suits claim both companies were given written notices that the ads misused The Black Keys’ music. The Home Depot ad touts Ryobi power tools, while the Pizza Hut ad touts its new “Cheesy Bites Pizza.”
Neither company received permission to use musical elements from the songs. The ads do not include any vocals.
“Lonely Boy” and “Gold on the Ceiling” both topped the Billboard alternative music chart after their release.
The Black Keys won two Grammy Awards in 2010 for music from their album “Brothers,” which won the Best Alternative Music Album award that year.
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Associated Press writer Mesfin Fekadu contributed to this report.
Directing Duo Mindcastle Joins Farm League For Commercials and Branded Content
Film company and certified B Corporation Farm League has added directing duo Mindcastle--consisting of Casey Warren and Danielle Krieger--to its roster for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content.
Mindcastle has spent a decade building a body of work that takes viewers from energetic anthemic sports campaigns to emotional narrative stories to big worlds layered with CGI and VFX. The common link through each genre is their crafted, highly cinematic visual language and grounded performances from believable heroes.
After developing their cinematic eye through photography, they first began directing when ESPN approached them to create a piece from the NFL draft. This snowballed into travel across the globe for numerous films, commercials and TV shows, and collaborations with talent including Derek Jeter, Floyd Mayweather, and Guillermo del Toro. Mindcastleโs work for Adidas, Questrade and Patron shows the spectrum of their worlds and themes.
In a joint statement, Mindcastle shared, โFarm Leagueโs work has an energy and dynamism to it where itโs not only defined by a strong visual style, but it also captivates your heart. We love the passion and mindset that the Farm League team brings to each project, including their drive to infuse a creative-first ethos into each project. We are incredibly excited to dig in together to continue expanding our roots of memorable and dynamic narratives.โ
Tim Lynch (TL), Farm League Founder and EP, commented, โMindcastleโs passion for telling big, crafted stories struck me immediately. They create worlds that are visually intriguing and grounded in humanistic performances, exactly the balance we seek at Farm League. We canโt wait to see where their vision can go... Read More