One day after Super Bowl XLIV, which was the most watched program in television history, the White Stripes took to their website to share their unhappiness with one commercial during the broadcast: a 30-second spot for the Air Force Reserve. The band's problem? They think the commercial borrows the fiery guitar opening of "Fell in Love With a Girl" without permission.
On the band's homepage, the Lego video for "Fell in Love With a Girl" appears next to a link to the Air Force's commercial so that users can compare the two songs. (Since last night, the Air Force has removed the commercial from its page.) But I saw the commercial and there are clear similarities between the two guitar tracks. In fact, if you weren't paying close attention you'd swear that the Air Force commercial is actually using the original White Stripes song.
"We believe our song was re-recorded and used without permission of the White Stripes, our publishers, label or management," the statement says on the band's home page. In particular, the White Stripes seemed annoyed at "the implication that we licensed one of our songs to encourage recruitment during a war that we do not support." The statement closes by saying, "We have not licensed this song to the Air Force Reserve and plan to take strong action to stop the ad containing this music."
Because the Air Force have yanked the commercial from their website, you could assume that the powers that be have received some sort of cease-and-desist letter from the band's management. Of course, this isn't the first time a rock band have been angered by their songs being appropriated for causes they don't agree with: During the 2008 presidential campaign, Foo Fighters (among others) took issue with John McCain's team using their songs on the campaign trail.
Update: The musician who wrote the instrumental track for the ad has apologized to the White Stripes.
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Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images.
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