The last thing you want to do on the internet is anger the mob, but that’s exactly what food brand Quorn did when it released a video ripping off a viral video from 2003 – and now it may be forced into a collaboration to avoid facing legal action.
The meat-free brand has released a campaign video titled ‘Uni-quorns’ which features a group of unicorns bopping in a field to a slightly off-worded song that just repeats the catchphrase over and over, with some sudden cuts to a mushroom.
Sound familiar? That’s because it’s a frame-for-frame clone of a viral animated video from 2003 titled ‘Badgers’, in which a group of badgers dance in a grassy field in amongst some mushrooms and the occasional ‘snaaaaaaake’.
Surprising absolutely no-one, the original creator of the video, Jonti Picking, went to Twitter asking that the company give him monetary compensation for using his content without his permission.
In the tweet, Picking, who goes by his online alias Mr Weebl, asks “Who do I contact about the blatant ripping off of my copyrighted content this time?”
Hi. Who do I contact about the blatant ripping off of my copyrighted work this time? https://t.co/ouOlSuUqUf
— The Weebl (@TheWeebl) August 23, 2022
Quorn reached out to the creator, who has released a number of viral songs and animations via his site Weebl’s Stuff, and appear to have reached some kind of an agreement – the original video has been taken down, and has now been re-released with Weebl voicing the song, and presumably being paid his due for the work.
UniQuorns, UniQuorns, UniQuorns 🦄
In the freezer in Iceland from 31st August✨
Produced by @TheWeebl 📹#Quorn #Vegan #New pic.twitter.com/X7EkxJPyUF
— Quorn Foods UK (@QuornFoods) August 26, 2022
This didn’t stop people from tearing the company up online for both the original copyright issue and the subsequent re-release, with Twitter users backing Weebl up and sternly reminding Quorn that content creators have the same restrictions on their content as anyone else.
Vegans: we don't condone eating living beings
Also vegans: copyright infringement? No problem.
— GORG (@BarbarianGorg) August 23, 2022
Time to wheel this out. Down with this sort of thing. pic.twitter.com/LZTMCkFTS0
— Jon Walsh (@Jon_Walsh) August 24, 2022
— Thomas ‘TomSka’ Ridgewell (@thetomska) August 26, 2022
Also, you’re all very welcome for having this banger of a song stuck in your heads for the rest of the day. Badgers, badgers badgers…
