4 ms·

GoldieBlox viral video turns tables on little-girl princess fantasy

21 points by creamyhorror 13y ago

__pThrow 13y ago
As well intentioned as GoldieBlox might be, they apparently violated the wishes of Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, and possibly his will, which prohibits the use of his music "artistic property" for advertising purposes after his death. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/adam-yauchs-will-prohibits-use-of-his-music-in-ads-20120809 http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/adam-yauchs-will-proh... According to the Hollywood Reporter, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/beastie-boys-girls-viral-video-659308 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/beastie-boys-girls-..., the Beastie Boys have threatened Goldblox with copyright infringement, and GoldieBlox has filed a lawsuit asking "declaratory relief that the video is not a copyright infringement" (http://www.scribd.com/doc/186402972/Beastie http://www.scribd.com/doc/186402972/Beastie) I am certainly not a lawyer, and I enjoyed the video, and it sort of seems like a fair use parody, except that I am led to understand fair use often depends on things like if it's for commercial use and how much of the original material is used. So it could be an interesting legal fight. It does seem to be disrespectful and a misstep. In contrast, Weird Al Yankovic famously asks for permission of the targeted artists to parody their songs. Word is GoldieBlox is now learning the lesson of: (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Parody)
- GhotiFish 13y ago
  Thanks for the info. On a personal note, I hope GoldieBlox wins it.
  - __pThrow 13y ago
    I am genuinely torn. I would like them to win in terms of copyright theory. I wish there was someway to come to terms with Adam's will however. Though presumably an innocent mistake, I do think that's a very big deal (on a karmic level.)
    - jbigelow76 13y ago
      >Though presumably an innocent mistake Oh come on, no need to be naive. It's not like the Goldieblox people heard the melody to "Girls" and thought it would work well for their commercial, they knew the pop-cultural baggage that came with that song and leveraged it for the marketing angle. That's not a criticism, it was savvy, regardless of how any lawsuits pan out Goldieblox should could out ahead.
    - malandrew 13y ago
      They could just remove the advertising parts at the end. It's not until the TV turns on that you know it is an advertisement.
clarkm 13y ago
For anyone curious about the Rube Goldberg machine in the video, here's a behind-the-scenes video with its inventor Brett Doar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrzCrXRpI4k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrzCrXRpI4k
hexasquid 13y ago
I want to support this company.
brfox 13y ago
My daughters have this game. They played it twice over the past 6 months ... they much prefer Legos.
tssva 13y ago
The GoldieBlox lyrics complain about stereotypes regarding what girls want. Specifically they mention buying pink items. Then I go to the GoldieBlox website and the toys are pink and purple. They feature cute animals including a dolphin ballerina. Seems a bit hypocritical to me.
- LyndsySimon 13y ago
  That's where I am on the topic. Despite my name, I am indeed a stereotypical hacker (overweight, beared, white and male). I have two daughters, the eldest of which loves the Lego set I've passed down to her. Not once has she complained that there are only a few pink blocks in the box - and come to think of it, I don't think I complained when I somehow acquired a "girl" set when I was younger; I just added them to the box. They're blocks, not genitalia. My daughter shoots guns, plays with Legos, and competes in a ballet competitions and pageants. Later today, we're going to make home-made sugar rockets. Time and weather permitting we'll take my Jeep up in the mountains this evening and launch a few. I think what these guys are doing is admirable, but in the end implying that girls' toys have to be pink and cute is nothing more than a complex version of "separate but equal".

21 points by creamyhorror 13y ago

As well intentioned as GoldieBlox might be, they apparently violated the wishes of Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, and possibly his will, which prohibits the use of his music "artistic property" for advertising purposes after his death. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/adam-yauchs-will-prohibits-use-of-his-music-in-ads-20120809 http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/adam-yauchs-will-proh... According to the Hollywood Reporter, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/beastie-boys-girls-viral-video-659308 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/beastie-boys-girls-..., the Beastie Boys have threatened Goldblox with copyright infringement, and GoldieBlox has filed a lawsuit asking "declaratory relief that the video is not a copyright infringement" (http://www.scribd.com/doc/186402972/Beastie http://www.scribd.com/doc/186402972/Beastie) I am certainly not a lawyer, and I enjoyed the video, and it sort of seems like a fair use parody, except that I am led to understand fair use often depends on things like if it's for commercial use and how much of the original material is used. So it could be an interesting legal fight. It does seem to be disrespectful and a misstep. In contrast, Weird Al Yankovic famously asks for permission of the targeted artists to parody their songs. Word is GoldieBlox is now learning the lesson of: (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Parody)

GhotiFish 13y ago
Thanks for the info. On a personal note, I hope GoldieBlox wins it.
- __pThrow 13y ago
  I am genuinely torn. I would like them to win in terms of copyright theory. I wish there was someway to come to terms with Adam's will however. Though presumably an innocent mistake, I do think that's a very big deal (on a karmic level.)
  - jbigelow76 13y ago
    >Though presumably an innocent mistake Oh come on, no need to be naive. It's not like the Goldieblox people heard the melody to "Girls" and thought it would work well for their commercial, they knew the pop-cultural baggage that came with that song and leveraged it for the marketing angle. That's not a criticism, it was savvy, regardless of how any lawsuits pan out Goldieblox should could out ahead.
  - malandrew 13y ago
    They could just remove the advertising parts at the end. It's not until the TV turns on that you know it is an advertisement.

clarkm 13y ago

For anyone curious about the Rube Goldberg machine in the video, here's a behind-the-scenes video with its inventor Brett Doar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrzCrXRpI4k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrzCrXRpI4k

hexasquid 13y ago

I want to support this company.

brfox 13y ago

My daughters have this game. They played it twice over the past 6 months ... they much prefer Legos.

tssva 13y ago

The GoldieBlox lyrics complain about stereotypes regarding what girls want. Specifically they mention buying pink items. Then I go to the GoldieBlox website and the toys are pink and purple. They feature cute animals including a dolphin ballerina. Seems a bit hypocritical to me.

LyndsySimon 13y ago
That's where I am on the topic. Despite my name, I am indeed a stereotypical hacker (overweight, beared, white and male). I have two daughters, the eldest of which loves the Lego set I've passed down to her. Not once has she complained that there are only a few pink blocks in the box - and come to think of it, I don't think I complained when I somehow acquired a "girl" set when I was younger; I just added them to the box. They're blocks, not genitalia. My daughter shoots guns, plays with Legos, and competes in a ballet competitions and pageants. Later today, we're going to make home-made sugar rockets. Time and weather permitting we'll take my Jeep up in the mountains this evening and launch a few. I think what these guys are doing is admirable, but in the end implying that girls' toys have to be pink and cute is nothing more than a complex version of "separate but equal".