Coincidence? Are we McStupid?

My friend Cyriak was sent a link to a video by a fan of his of a Swedish McDonalds advert which had a striking resemblance to his own work. The agency involved have apparently said its a coincidence, judge for yourself!

Cyriak’s animation …

and the advert …

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Itl08AFJOZI

After Sony and Coca Cola have both had bad publicity from similar problems, you would have thought that McDonalds would check what their ad agencies are churning out!

I hope that Cyriak gets the fees that were paid to the agency plus damages for having his worked linked to a company he didn’t endorse. In my opinion, I don’t see how something this close can be claimed as mere coincidence, especially as the animation technique is almost identical!

Copyright law has been tighened up dramatically over the last few years and the internet has made both IP stealing and its detection much easier, 15 years ago an idea taken from one country and used in another had a good chance of evading detection. Were in the 21st century guys, time to wake up!