“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.
