In a quick turn of events, toy company GoldieBlox has decided to just pull a commercial that went viral and featured a parody of a Beastie Boys song, deciding instead not to fight the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.
It was only last week when the video, which featured the group’s “Girls” with new lyrics, hit the web and racked up 3.5 million views. The commercial highlighted GoldieBlox’s toys, which are designed specifically for girls.
As the video’s popularity grew, the company filed a pre-emptive lawsuit against the Beastie Boys, incase they decided to sue for copyright infringement. GoldieBlox said that they could use it because of fair use and claimed that the group already “threatened” a lawsuit.
On Monday, AdWeek reported that the Beastie Boys responded with a statement, claiming all that they did was approach GoldieBlox about why they used the song. They fully support what the company is trying to do, but wrote, “When we tried to simply ask how and why our song ‘Girls’ had been used in your ad without our permission, YOU sued US.”
So, rather than keeping the fight going, GoldieBlox has decided to avoid any further litigation. In an open letter, CEO Debbie Sterling wrote, “We don’t want to fight with you. We love you and we are actually huge fans.”
Sterling wrote that as a small company, they needed to take the threats completely seriously. She also didn’t have any idea that the late founding member Adam Yauch put in his will that their work can’t be used for commercials.
“Although we believe our parody video falls under fair use, we would like to respect his wishes and yours,” the letter continues. “Since actions speak louder than words, we have already removed the song from our video. In addition, we are ready to stop the lawsuit as long as this means we will no longer be under threat from your legal team. We don’t want to spend our time fighting legal battles. We want to inspire the next generation. We want to be good role models. And we want to be your friends.”
According to the NY Times, a rep for the Beastie Boys hasn’t commented.
image: screenshot