You can’t stop Supwitchugirl. You can only hope to contain them.
The music video “I love my Ducks”, featuring a controversial appearance by the Duck, was mentioned on Thursday’s The Dan Patrick Show.
Here’s the audio:
I know some of you are tired of this story. But I would like to make one more note about all of this nonsense.
In “Does the Duck mascot’s hip-hop act put UO’s deal with Disney in peril?” posted on KVAL.com, Dave Williford with the UO Athletic Department commented in regards to the use of the Duck:
“Anything other than use for sporting events, we need to request permission from Disney in advance.”
That might be true now. But all I know is that I’ve attended non-sports functions, like weddings (or birthdays) of children of high-profile donors, with the Duck in attendance.
So, either it’s a new policy, or a policy that is conveniently ignored for the right people.
Or Disney approves every…single…one of these appearances.
If that’s the case, supwitchudisney?
And here’s one more question: who approved the use of the Duck costume (because it’s not like the thing is library book for anyone to check out)?
By the way, the video is back up on YouTube. Happy “I love my Ducks”-hunting, UO Athletic Department!
Tags: I love my Ducks, music video, Oregon Ducks, supwitchugirl i love my ducks, The Dan Patrick Show, University of Oregon
Brittany Says:
November 19th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
I’ve seen the duck many times at non-athletic events. I think this is just the AD needs to get over themselves because they couldn’t create better publicity for themselves. And can I say that us being able to use the duck from disney goes back to a verbal agreement. I think this is a bunch of bull.
Rachel Says:
November 19th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Did Disney approve of the cougar beat down? Just wondering…
If so, greatest Disney decision EVER.
Katy Says:
November 19th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
FACT: I am obsessed with this video/supwitchugirl. Best video ever.
DUCKYOU Says:
November 20th, 2009 at 2:41 am
I LOVE MY DUCKS
Kevin Brett Says:
November 20th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Virtually everyone in the PR world knows the predictable clichés…Ya can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube…Ya can’t un-ring the bell…or the lovely…Ya can’t put the bullet back in the chamber.
These clichés obviously apply to relatively new social media. China is trying desperately to prevent the dissemination of certain kinds of revolutionary information by blocking Twitter http://www.twitter.com, Facebook http://www.facebook.com and YouTube http://www.youtube.com. This heavy-handed censorship is ultimately going to fail. There are simply more than 1 billion Chinese and millions-and-millions of PCs/servers and thousands of miles of fibre optic cable. Do the math.
You would think the University of Oregon Athletic Department http://www.goducks.com would understand the folly associated with blocking the viral spread of a downright clever….and entirely appropriate rap video “I Love My Ducks” by three Oregon students, Michael Bishop, Brian McAndrew and Jamie Shade http://blog.oregonlive.com/pac10/2009/11/pac-10_insider_oregon_gets_it.html. But there it is, an easily avoided public relations shiner in black-and-white in the Oregonian with more newspapers, electronic media reports and blogs to quickly follow.
The real issue here is the use of the Oregon Duck mascot, who looks likes Donald Duck. In fact, the University of Oregon was authorized to use Donald as the mascot decades ago by none other than Walt Disney. “At issue here is the mascot, a copyrighted Disney figure, used by the UO athletic department with special permission of Disney Enterprises,” wrote Ken Goe and Mike Tokito of the Oregonian. “It’s unclear why the use of the mascot in this video possibly could offend Disney. The lyrics aren’t objectionable.”
Unfortunately, the unauthorized use of the Duck did not sit well with Angie Sit, Oregon’s assistant athletic director for Marketing, who demanded that the video be taken down. The net result: the video spread like wildfire.
“This is more like Godzilla deciding to squash Bambi,” the Oregonian bloggers wrote. “And in this case, Godzilla missed. We live in the information age, and bottling up a video that already has entered cyberspace is like trying to bottle sunshine.”
Why didn’t the PR Department at the University of Oregon take the preemptive step of calling the Legal Department at Disney Enterprises and explaining: “We want you to know about this video put together by three of our students without our knowledge. We have reviewed the video and it is not objectionable. It includes footage of the Donald Duck mascot. We did not approve the use of the mascot. We are going to allow this video to run its course and we appreciate your understanding. This was not intentional.”
As Henry Kissinger would say, the statement above has the added advantage of being the truth.
In addition, the school could spend some quality time with “The Duck” and without being overbearing make that costumed waterfowl clearly understand that the use of the mascot has to be consistent with cheering for the university’s teams. This would be a good thing to tell Disney, reassuring them that steps have been taken to prevent reoccurrence.
There are literally thousands and thousands of PR professionals who claim to be experts in crisis communications, but what happens when the PR experts create the crisis? This is one crisis the University of Oregon Athletic Department easily could have avoided. The result? The “I Love You Ducks” video will get more attention and more play than if it just passed away with the passage of time. http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1037122/i-smell-roses-video.html
This has been a Dow Jonser of a year for the UO Sports Information Department starting with the continuing saga of YouTube sucker punch star LeGarrette Blount and now the football team is on the doorstep of the Rose Bowl. And yet, another controversy involving three very bright students and one rap video…one that could have been easily avoided. You just can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.
Martin Says:
November 20th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Williford’s intellectual dishonesty is killing me. If the Duck can only be used for sporting events without first obtaining permission (which is patently false), then clearly the UO has interpreted that provision to include the promotion of sporting events (see, e.g., every rally or fan day event, ever). This video then clearly falls within the realm of sporting event promotion, and thus is clearly within the alleged guidelines for its use.
Williford can’t have it both ways. Either the Duck never again appears outside of a sporting venue at any time (and never appears in one except between opening and closing whistles), or the AD better start posting signs at every appearance reminding people that the Duck appears courtesy of Disney and that all rights to the image of the Duck are the intellectual property of Disney and may not be used or distributed in any fashion without advance written consent of Major League Baseball. (oops, got carried away).
Williford and the AD need to engage in a huge public mea culpa, admit they’re wrong (not just policy wise, but actually wrong), and promote the heck out of this video. As Chip even said, it could be a recruiting tool. Heads need to be removed from their current location ASAP.
Rachel Says:
November 20th, 2009 at 11:17 am
It’s just spin. I did learn however that you can rent the Duck to come to a party for $100. Sweet! Thanks Williford for clarifying. Ok to have the Duck go to an outside sporting event WITH money! Maybe the students should just pay $100 and let the whole thing be done. I’ll pitch in $10.
bp Says:
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:42 am
I WAS the Duck from 1991-92 an 1993-94 (the two years in 6 they DIDN’T go to a bowl). I traveled by bus to UW and by plane to Cal (where I actually fought the Cal Bear).
More importantly, I also attended SEVERAL political parties. Can’t recall the name, but a female Democrat – maybe governor or congresswoman – had a fundraiser. I had to walk around the Eugene Hilton with fancy-paants, look-down-the-nose campaign contributors for 3 hours. I was accompanied by several cheerleaders … because for a price … we were hired out to make appearances.
I did not see any overt sporting activity there, but there could have been Indian Leg Wrestling going on in some back corner.
The Duck, therefore, is available for sporting events and any event any person has enough cash to pay it for.
FURTHERMORE … I worked at Disneyland and knew the guy (a midget) who played Donald Duck. Donald and Puddles (in the “flesh”) are NOTHING LIKE EACH OTHER. Donald (as alluided to above) is 4′6″ whereas Puddles is 6′0.” Donald’s beak is lighter orange. Puddles is dark. Donal’s face is thinner. Puddles is fatter. On paper .. it’s Donald all the way .. but in “real life” “The Duck” only looks like a distant relative (and that’s just just they’re both ducks).
I feel much better. Thanks
Syd Says:
November 22nd, 2009 at 2:32 pm
The duck can be “rented” for $100 and hour as part of the agreement with Disney