OK Go Say Apple Ripped Off Their Video

OK Go Say Apple Ripped Off Their Video

Apple’s annual product rollout shebang, the one that ended with U2 forcing its new album onto your computer, began with a video called “Perspective” that was pegged as a tribute to original thinkers “who have always seen things differently.” Alas, OK Go believe “Perspective” is far from original. The band’s manager Andy Gershon told Bloomberg Businessweek that Apple ripped off the concept for their latest elaborate one-take video, “The Writing’s On The Wall.” As explained by Bloomberg, “The [Apple] video consists of a long shot in which the camera tracks around a white room; when the camera reaches a certain perspective, random shapes morph into inspirational words.” The effect is indeed similar to OK Go’s video, which has racked up 10 million views since debuting in June. But the band says the conflict goes deeper than someone at Apple seeing “The Writing’s On The Wall” and forging an imitation:

[Gershon] says the band met with Apple in April to pitch that visual concept as a potential video collaboration. Apple declined, so the band made its own video. Apple then hired 1stAveMachine, the production company behind OK Go’s video, to make a video for its iPhone launch event; it also used the same director. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. “The videos speak for themselves, and you can draw your own conclusions,” says Gershon.

Decide for yourself. Here’s OK Go’s video:

And here’s Apple’s commercial:

This isn’t the first time Apple has been accused of ripping off independent musicians for their ads. The Postal Service alleged that a 2005 ad about Apple’s Intel partnership mimicked the “Such Great Heights” video, and last July a MacBook ad drew the ire of El-P for allegedly copying Run The Jewels’ logo.

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