Tag Archives: Super Bowl

White Stripes Protest Super Bowl Ad for Air Force Reserve

From RockRap.com:

White Stripes Protest Super Bowl Ad for Air Force Reserve

By DAVE ITZKOFF
In song, at least, the band the White Stripes has boasted that it can hold off a seven-nation army. But now that rock group is taking on an entire branch of the United States Armed Forces, contending that it misused one of the band’s songs in a commercial that was promoted as a Super Bowl Sunday ad.

At issue is a commercial for the Air Force Reserve, set to an instrumental track that the White Stripes say is an unauthorized version of their song “Fell in Love With a Girl.” To make the point, at the Web site of its record label, Third Man Records, the band has juxtaposed the video for that song with a link to the Air Force Reserve commercial, inviting listeners to judge for themselves. (Update: the commercial appears to have been pulled from the Air Force Reserve Web site.)

In a statement posted Monday evening on the Third Man Records site, the White Stripes wrote:

We believe our song was re-recorded and used without permission of the White Stripes, our publishers, label or management.

The White Stripes take strong insult and objection to the Air Force Reserve presenting this advertisement with the implication that we licensed one of our songs to encourage recruitment during a war that we do not support.

The White Stripes support this nation’s military, at home and during times when our country needs and depends on them. We simply don’t want to be a cog in the wheel of the current conflict, and hope for a safe and speedy return home for our troops.

We have not licensed this song to the Air Force Reserve and plan to take strong action to stop the ad containing this music.