Same taste in music: Hilfiger & Honda

Imagine you work on an idea for months. One idea that stands for many that did not make the cut, that ended up in the bin. An idea that is part of a big holiday season campaign. The client finally approves the script, and the cost, and the whole production machinery gets rolling. You media slots have been reserved. You finally launch the Holiday campaign, lean back, and then... WTF? Someone else stole your idea?

Not exactly. Someone else simply had the same taste in music. Neither you nor they were willing to fork over the amount of $$$ necessary to get the exclusive rights for the song. So you both end up sharing. Not a tragedy, but certainly not what either of you had in mind when spending six-figure amounts of money on producing your TV commercial, and much much more when sending it out onto the TV programs of the world.

How to do this differently? Either get the exclusive rights, pick a more generic song, or do what Apple does/did - sign young, and upcoming bands exclusively that don't have the leverage to demand ridiculous sums for using their material.

I'm sure neither Hilfiger nor Honda are too happy about this.

Related links:
Tommy Hilfiger on Facebook
Honda on Facebook