Apparently, quite a number of people have noticed the similarities between the work of artists Christo and Jeanne Claude, and this commercial of AT&T entitled “Blanket.”
Now, Stuart Elliot The New York Times reports that AT&T is adding a disclaimer to the end of the spot.
Last week, after receiving from a reader an e-mail message asking whether the commercial “pays homage to — or is a ripoff of — the art installations of Christo and Jeanne-Claude,” this reporter contacted a spokesman for AT&T. The spokesman was asked to comment about the similarity of the concept in the commercial to art projects by Christo and Jeanne-Claude like “The Gates,” which festooned orange fabric throughout Central Park in February 2005.
The spokesman, Steve Schwadron, who works for the Fleishman-Hillard public relations agency, replied with this statement: “The artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have had and have no direct or indirect affiliation or involvement with the creation of AT&T’s advertising.”
The statement that was provided by Mr. Schwadron has now been added to the commercial. It has been superimposed onscreen at the end of the spot.
A good move. But if agencies had to put disclaimers after every spot that had some art influence…well, there’d be a helluva lot of disclaimers.
There are plenty of YouTube videos of “The Gates,” the art installation in question. Here’s one: