Microsoft Commercial a Rip-off?
A Microsoft Xbox commercial favoured to win a top prize at the world's biggest advertising competition is a blatant rip-off of a French short film, a lawsuit by the filmmaker alleges.
The Xbox video-game system ad, called Champagne, depicts a newborn baby hurtling through the air and rapidly growing old. It ends with the screaming person, now an elderly man, slamming into his grave.
"Life is short. Play more," the tagline reads.
The slickly-produced ad is shortlisted in the film category at the International Advertising Festival in Cannes, often referred to as the Olympics of advertising. Winners will be announced today.
But French filmmaker Audrey Schebat filed suit in Paris High Court in April, alleging that the idea for the ad was copied from her short film, called Life, which also depicts an accelerated human life.
The suit names Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash., and its French subsidiary as defendants, according to AdAge.com, the on-line edition of U.S. trade magazine Advertising Age. The suit cites 40 similarities between the two ads, it said.
Microsoft officials were not available for comment.
A spokeswoman for Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) of London, the agency that created the ad, read a short statement to The Globe and Mail but would not comment further. "We are aware of the claim being made by Ms. Schebat in France which is being vigorously defended," the statement said.
Ms. Schebat could not be reached for comment. The case will be heard on June 24, AdAge.com said.
The ad was created by BBH's high-profile French duo of Fred Raillard and Farid Mokart, who are known simply as Fred and Farid.
According to BBH, the ad aired only in Europe, but countless North Americans viewed the spot on the Internet and forwarded it to friends and co-workers. Such viral marketing was a deliberate component of Microsoft's strategy in launching the Xbox, its "future-generation video game system."
This is not the first time the spot has generated controversy.
Britain's ad watchdog, the Independent Television Commission, yanked it off the air earlier this month after 136 viewers complained that it was offensive. It continued to run in cinemas.
"The man's screams throughout his life's journey suggested a traumatic experience, which, together with the reminder that life is short, made the final scene more shocking," the regulator said.
Source: Xbox Weekly
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