Rip-off Taiwanese TV Ad soundtracks

[headhonchoII]

This has been a bugbear of mine for years, are Taiwanese advertising companies too cheap to pay for original soundtracks? Do they 'tweak' a Western pop song just enough to get away from copyright laws? I find it disturbing in it's lack of any creative input whatsoever. It's also not accidental, Mika is a very popular artist in Taiwan.

Check out the latest example-
Mika's Big Girl You Are Beautiful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDSK91mUNLU (Go to about 50 seconds in)

Then China Life's ad running on Taiwanese TV networks and on their own website
http://www.chinalife.com.tw/web2006/com ... 004?step=3

Or how about
Mika's Lollipop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3GYgkAisLE

Then Tobe M'car TV advertisement along with same type of cartoon effects
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3GYgkAisLE

I bet that it is the same advertising company doing these two advertisements? Have they signed a deal with Mika's record company? Should I contact them to get a commision on copyright infringement?

Let's post up any similar examples you see as they pop up on TV screens here fairly regularly.

[kaikai34]

Taiwan has been ripping off music from everybody for ages. We're just not that musically inventive I guess.

[headhonchoII]

It's not so much the lack of creativity and the laziness which I have come to expect, but the sheer greed of these advertising companies. This is not a guy hacking together a video on his home computer.

They get paid a lot of money to produce these ads, and then they rip off other artists, shame on them! That's why I would love if the record companies would sue their asses.

[Steviebike]

How do you know they didn't buy rights or are paying royalty?

I don't see any laziness or lack of creativity in the Tobe adverts, rather the opposite.

We all know that Taiwan is on the big black list for copyright infringement, but these adverts don't seem to be on that same ground.

[headhonchoII]

I don't know but I am guessing they haven't paid because they have changed the music slightly and I can only surmise it's because they don't want to pay royalties and lots of people here will cheat for extra profit. I have noticed this in at least 10 ads over the years, Queen has been ripped off lots of times too.

Also the Tobe commercial is a complete ripoff of the Mika lollipop video animation? Creative?

[Icon]

Sincerely I find the use of Beethoven's 9th as sung by Amei to promote fake potato chips more disturbing.

[Steviebike]

I don't know but I am guessing they haven't paid because they have changed the music slightly and I can only surmise it's because they don't want to pay royalties and lots of people here will chest for extra profit. I have noticed this in at least 10 ads over the years, Queen has been ripped off lots of times too.

Also the Tobe commercial is a complete ripoff of the Mika lollipop video animation? Creative?

The Mika video is a rip-off too! The style of creative has been done for years (think Beatles Yellow Submarine). In this sense if they had copied Mika, it's a form of flattery. The animation is an original made for the purpose of the advert only. The person who animated it is creative!

Neither of us know if royalties are collected for these songs or not. Changing the music slightly, depends what and where, in some sense it can become a new and original piece. Even so I would say a lot of work would go into that, to change it and re-score, compose and record. Trouble is most things have been done so not being like something else is a near impossible task. I personally found the advert to be of good standard and had it's own life. I didn't draw a parallel to the Mika song/video but they are similar.

The adverts that get me are ones like the recent iPad copycat with fake Steve Jobs with angel wings. Not inspired at all.

[headhonchoII]

Right, now you are saying it's okay to rip-off both the soundtrack AND the video animation. That's really stretching belief and no it is not that similar to Yellow Submarine, either the video or the song.

I didn't draw a parallel to the Mika song/video but they are similar

How long have you lived in Taiwan ?

The song on it's own is bad enough (even the Taiwanese commenter in Chinese states so on the Youtube..saying what happened to Mika's song?), but to copy the video style too...simply ridiculous. I don't have a problem so much with copying AS LONG AS they pay the original artist for their efforts, ESPECIALLY when the product advertised belongs to a multi billion dollar public company and the advertising company I can guess is one of the biggest ones in Taiwan!

Also---what's the name of the car--- M'car

EDIT- I really can't see how they didn't pay royalties for the Song, Video and Artist's Name on their product, can I quote you again for a laugh please Steve

I didn't draw a parallel to the Mika song/video but they are similar

...but you never know in Taiwan...cheap arseness abounds even at the highest levels. For the China Life ad I would say it is very unlikely they have paid any royalties to Mika or the record company he is contracted to. Again a multi billion dollar public company!


I don't care if a lot of work goes into rescoring and recomposing the song (and this I highly doubt as they just move a few notes higher and lower, change the key etc, add in crappy nonsensical English words..simple stuff), what I care about is that they are just jumping on the original artist's song and it's popularity instead of being upfront about it and paying him/her his royalty for commercial advertising. I don't know if they are not paying royalties, but if they were paying royalties, why change the music eh?

[Icon]

The adverts that get me are ones like the recent iPad copycat with fake Steve Jobs with angel wings. Not inspired at all

Steviebike, this one irks me no end. Awful.

That reminds me of the Pom Pom men ad. Someone here was asking what was the point, and the point was copying from the movie 3 Idiots the shower dance scene, just because the movie was popular in Taiwan. Still a grey area copyright-wise.

[Steviebike]

Steviebike, this one irks me no end. Awful.

That reminds me of the Pom Pom men ad. Someone here was asking what was the point, and the point was copying from the movie 3 Idiots the shower dance scene, just because the movie was popular in Taiwan. Still a grey area copyright-wise.

Also I will add Pom Pom Ad to the list!

can I quote you again for a laugh please Steve

If it makes you happy HH. I'm not in any way ridiculing you, so I don't know why you are trying to make me look like a fool. Your issues with Taiwan are not mine. I've worked in marketing and advertising for over 15 years. I'm just stating my observations. I spend a lot of time looking at various ad campaigns along with the associated marketing. Granted it's mostly below the line stuff, but I understand above the line as well. Considering the car and the obvious demographics it's intended for, I feel it's pretty good. Being like Mika's song is not the same as being Mika's song. Anyway...

Have a good weekend, I'm off to Kending.