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OK Go not okay with Apple copycat clip
By Aly Barchi | Published on Friday 12 September 2014
OK Go claim that Apple have plagiarised one of their ‘viral’ pop videos (no, not the one with the treadmills), in this case ‘The Writing’s On The Wall’, in a new Apple ad titled ‘Perspective’, which was premiered earlier this week at the tech giant’s big iPhone/iWatch/iNexplicable U2 LP reveal.
By odd and very relevant coincidence, OK Go met with Apple back in April to pitch them a promo idea, with the intention that it might be made via a collaborative band-brand alliance. Whilst Apple opted not to work with the band in the end, it did later hire the creative team behind their ‘TWOTW’ video to make its own promotional clip.
Speaking to Bloomberg Businessweek post-‘Perspective’ premiere, OK Go’s manager Andy Gershon says: “You could imagine circumstances where there’s a legal claim here, although I think it’s unlikely to succeed. That said, from a PR perspective, I’d say it wasn’t a smart move by Apple”.
Smart, perhaps. Fair? No. “The videos speak for themselves, and you can draw your own conclusions”, adds Gershon. And you can, now.
This is OK Go’s original concept:
And this is Apple’s um… ‘unauthorised homage’: