Passion Pictures Accused of Ripping-off Kozyndan
Posted on October 11, 2007 by C Johnson
Advertising, Art
Kozyndan, the LA-based artists who also happen to be husband and wife, are perhaps best known for their whimsical city illustrations. Their New York City panoramas are particularly popular and “Uprisings,” the playfully tongue-in-cheek take on the famous “Great Wave Off Kana Gawa,” is perhaps Kozyndan’s most famous work.
It seems that the fine folks at Sony’s Passion Pictures are fans of these particular Kozyndan pieces as well.
Yesterday, a passionate blogger over at Gizmodo point-blank called Sony’s new TV spot for their Bravia HDTV’s a “rip off” of Kozyndan’s work. The ad is a toe-tapping, clever little spot that features stop motion claymation of the bright, multi-colored bunnies that run rampant in Kozyndan’s NYC panorama, climaxing in a tidal wave bursting with bunnies that’s straight out of “Uprisings.”
Over on the Kozyndan Livejournal, they admit that “Its hard to think that people at Passion Pictures did not have this early panoramic of ours in mind when they created this new spot for the SONY Bravia line.”
As it turns out, two years ago Passion Pictures requested samples of Kozyndan’s work and never followed up after the samples were sent.
The fact that over seven hundred days have passed since requesting those samples does much to suggest the Passion Pictures didn’t intentionally set out to … er … sample Kozyndan’s work specifically for their Bravia line.
But in the same way that Rolling Stones fans will immediately recognize that “She’s A Rainbow” is the song blaring over the TV spot, Kozyndan fans will certainly likewise recognize that those are unmistakably Kozyndan’s bunnies taking over the city… or at least their reincarnated counterparts. (And while the Stones will no doubt have been amply compensated for use of their song, Kozyndan will, sadly, emerge entirely empty-pocketed.)
So, are Passion Pictures guilty of a shameless rip-off or should Kozyndan be flattered by their creative inspiration?
Have a look and decide for yourself
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One Response to “Passion Pictures Accused of Ripping-off Kozyndan”
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Kozyndan’s work provided more than a “rough idea” for the spot - it’s the genesis, theme and spirit. I think Sony owes them more than a nod.