Don't Mention The War – VW Lawyers Tell YouTube
Posted by: Marker | Uncategorized | 18.09.2007
Volkswagen were less than amused by a YouTube user creating a parody of one of their TV commercials featuring a Nazi theme.
They have filed a subpoena demanding that YouTube release the identity of the user that uploaded the video.
I’m struggling with this to be honest. I know that VW’s ad agency in the US developed the following TV commercials with the intention of pushing them on YouTube and other online video sites, effectively diverting traditional media spend into creative, production and talent.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand the reasons why they would be upset, but you can’t have it both ways. Either you are embracing the benefits of social media and factor in the potential risk as part of the deal, or just don’t do it at all. Don’t try and leverage the medium to get free reach and then complain when it doesn’t go your way.
Legal remedies are not the answer, except for the lawyers. They are the only potential winners from all the online copyright legal action. You can’t control the web, and probably you just do more damage to your brand in the long term anyway trying to duke it out in the courts. I personally hadn’t picked up on this story before they filed the subpoena, and it will probably get more coverage now than if they had just let it be.
The fact is the parody will ultimately drive more users to the content they wanted consumers to see in the first place.
By the way VW, consumers are smart enough to understand what a parody is. Now while watching the video they think about how you can’t take a joke. It doesn’t matter to them how distasteful the joke may be.