Remember what a big deal the 1987 "Revolution" Nike ad was?

[click to embiggen]

Buzzfeed reports that this complaint letter is framed at Nike headquarters. I remember when that ad came out, and it was actually a really big deal that an actual song by The Beatles had been "sold out" to sell shoes.



John Lennon had been dead for almost seven years at that point, and the publishing rights to most Beatles-era Lennon-McCartney songs had been purchased by Michael Jackson in 1985. In an unprecedented move, Wieden+Kennedy paid paid $250,000 to Michael Jackson and another $250,000 to Capitol Records which held the North American licensing rights to The Beatles’ recordings.

Apparently, Paul, George and Ringo were not happy about it. Through their record company, Apple, (which would later fight with Apple Computers) filed a lawsuit in July 1987. They named Nike, Wieden+Kennedy, and Capitol-EMI Records for $15 million in damages. It was settled out-of-court for an undisclosed sum.

Yoko Ono, however, approved of the song's commercial use, telling Time that the ad was "making John's music accessible to a new generation."

The real revolution — of advertisers using the borrowed interest of unaltered classic songs for campaigns — was unstoppable. It's now almost inconceivable to imagine a time when new and old hits were not repurposed as anthems for big brands. Even though it is pretty lazy creative, when you think about it.

And the letter? The imgr source cuts off the signature. But one thing I can say for sure, is that he or she was also a Monty Python fan.

F'd Ad Fridays: Senior citizens gone wild!

This was a PSA of The Day at The Daily What, who wrote:

"Lancashire Police are warning resident to be on the lookout for a band of menacing pensioners roaming the streets and wreaking havoc. 

The (mostly) tongue-in-cheek PSA attempts to convey the message that anti-social behavior of any sort would not be tolerated in Lancashire, irrespective of age."

It is a rather silly ad, using the overdone "old people acting like young people" trope that Pepsi used to rely so heavily on.

Plus, it's hard not to think about Monty Python the whole time...

Mooncup presents: way too many synonyms for "vagina"

Mark from Osocio shared this amusing video on Twitter, for the menstrual cup manufacturer Mooncup:



The lyrics are based on user submissions from loveyourvagina.com, a campaign microsite now over a year old, that talks about the product's health and environmental benefits, and invites women to share their own pet names for their pudenda.

The top entries so far (99% of which I assume were offered by my fellow men) are:

The raspberry cave, Liltulip, Lady gaga, Penis flytrap, Falangee, Vagibagi, Sashimi, Vaginator, Nether regions, La vajajay, Bananajaja, Stikkio, Vagillow, Chachina, Vajingi, Dr muffenstein, Forrie, Jabba the hutt, Farfy, Savvanah the sexi, Boof, Wahola, My little, Pakangkang, Spencer, Flamoush, Super, Pusspuss, Pussalinda, Fisse, The beach, Guhther, Gobbleitallup, Ginee, Hoo nanny, Sweet pie, Picika, Flimflam, Jungle, Jackpot, Blueberry, Love shack, Pink kryptonite, Down stairs, My love nub, Fupa, Far south, Picza, Ninny ninny nine no nu, Fanny long stockings, Off limits, Mc lovin', Candy, Cherry, Minnie the moocher, Fenella, High china, Poom, Mervis, Loo lah, Chochi, Zina princess warrior, Slug of love, Minnie ha ha, Tiffany, Geoff, Pa-cha-cha, Love bits, Milkshake, Felma, Vageesh, Moobies, Smurfette, Foef, The mouse's ear, The furry cup, Lady star, Fica, Lovesump, Ferlangee, Mucka, Woobie, Minney, The last supper, Whisker biscuit, Anne fan fanny, Bit, Foofie g, Mrs tickle, The place of no return, Basket, Funini, Place of business, Cavern of secrets, My ladybeak, Perrechooo, My delta love cave, Pink lotus, Wikerty splikerty, Fru fru :), Hairy cup, Pooey tooey, "v" reg, Pookey, Foufoune, My girlfriend, Lisbeth, Vertical smilenot, My netherlands, Firecrotch, Constance, Billie va-jean, Nou-nou, Pansy, Tropical flower, Platypussy... and literally hundreds more.

Effective user engagement, or just puerile fun? Only their sales will tell.

Meanwhile, here's the classic male version: