Apple and Pepsi slap RIAA

[Christiern]

I thought this might interest those among us who see RIAA as the greedy pigs they are.--CA

Pepsi iTunes ad to feature RIAA legal targets
By Peter Cohen pcohen@maccentral.com
January 23, 2004 9:55 am ET

Since Apple revealed the Windows version of its popular iTunes software last October, it's been known that Apple and Pepsi would work together to promote the iTunes Music Store by selling bottles of Pepsi products with redeemable codes for free songs from the iTunes Music Store under the cap. Now USA Today has the inside scoop on the vaunted Super Bowl advertisement that Pepsi will show to kick off the promotion.

According to USA Today's Theresa Howard, Pepsi's advertisement will feature 20 teenagers who have been sued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which has accused each of them of illegally downloading commercial music from the Internet. The ad will reportedly feature a version of the Bobby Fuller Four classic "I Fought the Law" covered by pop-punk band Green Day. The ad shows a 14-year old Staten Island teenager who proclaims, "We are still going to download music for free off the Internet."

The promotion itself will run through February and March, 2004. One out of three specially marked bottles of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Sierra Mist will contain a code that users can redeem for one free song from the iTunes Music Store. Apple and Pepsi claim that up to 100 million free songs may be redeemed during the promotion period.

[shawn·m]

A marketing bonanza. What better way to win the hearts and minds of youthful rebels?

[Big Al]

Sweet!