An unsigned British band have accused Coca-Cola's Argentinean advertising agency of ripping off one of their videos for their latest Coke TV ad campaign. The band are Seven Seconds Of Love and the video they believe has been plagiarised was for their 2005 track 'Ninja'. The pop promo, created by the band's frontman Joel Veitch, featured several animated characters dancing and swiveling to the song. The new Coke ad has a similar look and, the band claim, a soundtrack not altogether unlike their original song. The band became aware of the ad after their fans alerted them to the similarities between the commercial and the video.
The BBC quote Veitch thus: "Whenever someone sees something that looks vaguely like my work, usually it's simply not true. Usually it just looks a bit similar, or [there's] a style reference to something that we did, so I was not overly concerned when people first contacted us about the similarities. [But] after a few weeks they put it online so I actually saw it, at which point I was filled with righteous anger, and realised it was a slightly different case from the usual". He reckons the ad has copied his "entire work", adding that lawyers have advised the band that they have "a clear case" for legal action.
However, Veitch admits that the costs of pursuing litigation against Coke and their ad agency may well mean the band are unable to take action, especially if the UK courts ruled the case should be heard in Argentina where the ad was made and broadcast. Veitch: "It's a bit of a mismatched battle. We haven't got any financial resources behind us and they're an enormous multi-national behemoth. The risk is that if we do take it to court, there's every possibility that they may just drag it out until we're bankrupt. Spending many thousands of pounds on a lawyer on the other side of the world to fight a case in a different language, while we're all trying to hold down our day jobs and pay a mortgage, sounds a bit difficult really. But if we could do it on a no-win, no-fee basis in England, we'd be laughing".
Coke say that their Argentinean ad agency claim no copying has taken place, and that similarities between the ad and Seven Seconds Of Love's promo video are just coincidental. In a statement the drinks brand told reporters: "We have acted in good faith when retaining the agency and deciding to air the TV commercial. Therefore, we are surprised by the alleged claim and deeply regret being associated to this unusual and unexpected debate."