White Stripes angry with song use in Super Bowl ad

White Stripes

During the Super Bowl, an Air Force ad ran featuring a song strikingly similar to the White Stripes’ “Fell in Love with a Girl.” Like most bands, the White Stripes don’t appreciate having their songs ripped, and they were swift in letting the culprits know about it.

From Rolling Stone:

“We believe our song was re-recorded and used without permission of the White Stripes, our publishers, label or management,” the band writes in a statement on their official Website. “We have not licensed this song to the Air Force Reserve and we plan to take strong action to stop the ad containing this music.” Watch the offending commercial on the Air Force Reserve site. UPDATE: The video and page housing it have both been pulled from the Air Force Reserve site.

“The White Stripes takes strong insult and objection to the Air Force Reserves presenting this advertisement with the implication that we licensed one of our songs to encourage recruitment during a war we do not support,” the Stripes write. “The White Stripes support this nation’s military, at home and during times when our country needs and depends on them. We simply don’t want to be a cog in the wheel of the current conflict, and hope for a safe and speedy return home for our troops.”

Bad move, Air Force. The Super Bowl is the last place you want to advertise if you’re trying to avoid copyright infringement.