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“I Smell Roses” Ruffles Disney Feathers

The student-produced “I Smell Roses” video has been getting a lot of publicity recently.  Its nationwide attention has garnered positive reviews, however Disney and the UO Athletic Department are not happy.

The Athletic Department has asked the University of Oregon rap group “Supwitchugirl” to take down the video from Youtube. The band has adhered to the demands, but anyone who has been on the internet knows once a video is put on the internet it is almost impossible to remove it.

The problem is that Disney lets the UO have our mascot be in the image of Donald Duck. They are saying that the unauthorized use of the Duck in the popular video may end up in Disney pulling the ability to use Donald’s looks, therefore getting rid of Puddles.

In all likelihood there is no way that Disney will pull the Duck’s mascot due to the excessive backlash that would come from the media. The video is not offensive. It does not portray the Duck in a bad light either – he dances in the background for goodness sakes. The video is what college fandom is all about. Now the corporate bigwigs at Disney and the Athletic Department are drowning the fun. The only thing that will come out of this is more exposure to the video.

Here’s hoping that the Athletic Department and Disney will recognize they are overreacting.

As a former DuckU executive producer I have to say that I am proud of the video’s popularity and exposure for DuckU.

Go Ducks.

  1. Blue Goat says:

    Impressive how quickly a clever idea can spark such attention. I believe this video is a shining example for how independent sources should be respected as powerful sources of content. Television and film are getting 1-up’ed by independents with some creativity.

    Boise State students also created humorous rap video about 3 months prior. Interesting to see this trend between the University’s, also closely aligned in football popularity.

    Definitely worth watching!:

  2. Raymond says:

    I hope they play the song at the game, ’cause I’ll be there!! I love the song. I want it for my ringtone. Go DUCKS!!

  3. jkp says:

    UofO and Disney just need to back off. It was good clean fun. It was well created and the students behind it should be recognized as creative. By being so upset about the use of the the duck in this video only makes Disney and UofO look bad. Would I want to send my kid to a school that is so into itself that it wouldn’t promote my kids creativity? No. I personally love the song and look forward to civil war. Go Ducks!

  4. rando says:

    The video is only great publicity for oregon

  5. mwl says:

    The video is fabulous and what a positive way to bring the community together and be able to smile, laugh and chat about it! Well done Supwitchugirl and Puddles! What a great reflection on Disney as well. I love it when everybody wins!

  6. Rich says:

    The other comments are spot on. The video is brilliant, tasteful, and tons of fun. What a great FREE promotion for the University! Hell, even Chip Kelly loves it. Disney isn’t likely to object one bit. Besides, it’s so far gone into cyberspace that they would like heartless bullies if they complained now. At this point it makes the most sense for the UofO and Disney to get totally behind it and leverage it into positive PR. Even to the point of getting ESPN and ABC to play a quality version of it during the Civil War broadcast and even the Rose Bowl. Negative press and griping about this great video masterpiece isn’t helping anyone at all. If the UofO and/or Disney really want to control this thing, they should obtain the rights to it, control how money is made off of it, and donate any proceeds to the Duck Athletic Fund, or maybe even create a scholarship for some needy future Duck student – but all the while giving full creative credit and cudos to Supwitchugirl. Let’s make something really positive out of this, because that’s what this is. Go Ducks… do the right thing.

  7. RDS says:

    Hmm… It’s just a duck out in public with no expectation of privacy… A public figure, in fact…

  8. Carolyn says:

    I think it is good clean fun. I think Disney and the University should lighten up and enjoy the positive.

  9. C.T. Behemoth says:

    Whoever said that they were embarrassed that their overpaid, slush-fund operators couldn’t come up with something like it was right.

    If anything, they should take the experience and create a video contest for duck spirit (blah blah blah) and to the victors go the puddles for use in their eventual masterpiece.

  10. Saed says:

    The fact of the matter is the University’s marketing department does not have issue with the copyright, they take issue with the fact that the students in question got use of the Duck for free (the university charges alumni and donors for use of the duck in private functions.) They are blaming copyright when in reality the students who produced this made it with no financial gain in mind, thus not breaching the copyright agreement between the university and Disney. If this really were an issue, then the university would have to track down EVERY SINGLE picture or video of the duck that’s ever been posted online or on facebook without the university’s permission.

  11. C.T. Behemoth says:

    See my comments under Britain’s internet law.

    In this case, the U of O is doing its best Metallica impression.

    Idiots.

  12. marc says:

    Well said, JMarts. My thoughts exactly.

  13. Jmartens says:

    I think the UO administration is full of it. Disney hasn’t complained and wont. How is this use of Puddles any different than his appearance at alumni social functions, kids birthday parties or on Corso’s head when he picks the Ducks on College Gameday?

    The UO administration is a controlling one and they can’t stand not controlling every bit of the marketing message. That and they are embarrassed that a few students could make something so clever and so viral.

    Instead of freaking out and demanding its removal, the UO should reward these kids by licensing the song for play in Autzen, in commercials and online. It is brilliant.

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