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Ripoff?

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ripoff?

Did PepsiCo Steal Ad From Tumblr Blogger?

Is Tumblr now fertile ground for stealing ideas? Sierra Mist has a new ad—a cross promotion with The Office on NBC—showing a bunch of office workers flying toy helicopters around their workspace as Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" plays in the background. "Is your office this much fun?" the voice-over asks. The Sierra Mist spot is amazingly similar to a promo video that the young blog wizards at Tumblr released seven months ago. The same helicopters buzzing around the office; the same background music. Tumblr founder David Karp tells us he came up with the idea on a lark, to show off life in the office of the young company, and that the musical idea was "the result of being raised by a composer with an appreciation for theme music." He also tells us he wasn't contacted by Sierra Mist's ad agency before their ad went up. Scandal? We've emailed PepsiCo. for a response. It could be an uncredited rip off—or just a case of both being inspired by Apocalypse Now. Click to watch the clip above juxtaposing the two ads, and decide for yourself. [Full original Tumblr spot here. Full Sierra Mist ad here.]

4:28 PM on Mon May 19 2008
By Hamilton Nolan
2,673 views, 21 comments

Latest by VoxPopuli: I just hope this doesn't mess up Wagner's endorsement deal with Snapple. more »

ripoff

Happiness Publishers Run Out of New Ideas

Life, and finding happiness, is like a bowl of cherries! Or a box of... damn, why is it so hard to come up with any other ideas? That's what publishers are wondering, as they appear to be having problems coming up with designs (other than cherries) for new books on happiness. Stumbling on Happiness, by Daniel Gilbert, came out in March of 2007. It was a best-seller! The topic was optimistic, and the simple, pretty cover featured a nice font and an overturned bowl of cherries. Now, we won't beat up on the latest two authors to write books on happiness, Alexanda Stoddard and Sonja Lyobomirsky. But did their publishers' design departments have to choose the same imagery (cherries!), font, and soothing color scheme? Take a look for yourselves! More »

4:58 PM on Fri Jan 4 2008
By Sheila
2,426 views, 22 comments

Latest by HiredGoons: Won't somebody think of the trees!? more »