A while back I received a bunch of DVDs from a good friend. These disks were copies of some VHS tapes she had bought years back. These were collections of “classic” cartoons, TV shows (Usually just the intro) and commercials. You see, I do a little Internet show called Sunday Morning Coffee with Jeff. Unless you know me, you’ve probably never heard of it but you more than welcome to take a look.

Anyway, I’ve been posting some of these to YouTube. The more stranger and obscure the better. I posted commercials all types of products. One day I can across a Salem Cigarette commercial. It was great. It had a handsome guy pushing a pretty gal on a swing hanging from a tree, a lighthearted song playing and the announcer going on about how wonderful the cigarettes taste. It was a great example of capitalism at it finest!

It was up for three or four days and generated more hits than any other post I had made.

And then, this morning, I signed on my YouTube account and a strange message popped up. Now I really messed this up here because I didn’t get a screen capture of it. It seemed Phillip Morris, the huge conglomerate, had taken notice of my 60 seconds and had complained to the masters at YouTube. It seems that I had violated their copyright when I posted this ad. I was warned that another violation could result in my YouTube account being suspended.

How amusing this is, really, Once upon a time, they paid big bucks to have this ad shown over and over on television. Now, it is in a place where people are watching it and they don’t even have to pay and they took it off with legal action. What could they think they are hiding? Are they really just that embarrassed by their past they have to use high priced lawyers to bury the past? Or is it more of an “It’s ours and you can’t have it” thing. That’s what I think it is. They really don’t care if you see it, or if I have it, they just know it is theirs and I used it without they’re permission.

Oh well, that fine.