The toy company GoldieBlox has pulled the Beastie Boys’ song “Girls” from an insanely popular video advertising their pink- and purple-hued take on Tinker Toys.
In the first incarnation of the video, ridiculously adorable female children build a Rube Goldberg-esque contraption to the tune of a non-misogynistic version of “Girls” (think lyrics about girls doing the dishes swapped out for lines about girls building spaceships).
The Beastie Boys weren’t exactly psyched about the use of their work, seeing as how late Beastie Adam Yauch apparently requested in his will that the band’s songs never be used in advertising. The toy company wasn’t exactly psyched to receive what they perceived as a threat from the Beastie Boys’ lawyers over what they claimed qualified as a parody, so they took legal action preemptively.
Something must have swayed GoldieBlox (Jewish guilt, perhaps?) because late Tuesday night they removed the song from the video. They also posted an apology letter to their website, in which it is unclear if they are actually apologizing, or just reinforcing their image as a small, spunky, well-intentioned, Beastie Boy-loving company.
Check out the new, and — sorry — way less effective ad, here.
