Re: [AMIA-L] Reply: Philips 'DVDs will last forever' advert

[Roger Smither <RSmither@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Did any UK list members have the foresight to keep a copy of the similarly themed VHS cassette commercials run over here a good many years ago by the tape manufacturer 3M/Scotch?
For those who never saw it, the ad featured a cheerful animated skeleton (ie. somebody of extreme old age) happily feeding a 'Scotch' brand cassette into his VCR time after time, while singing a version of the rock song "Not Fade Away".  Lacking foresight myself, I do not have a recording to refer to, but as far as I can recall the words went something like this:
        "I'm gonna tell you how it's gonna be
        With Scotch's lifetime guarantee
        Tapes that last more than one day
        Re-record, not fade away
        Re-record, not fade away
        [etc to fade out]."
I thought there could be scope for a lawsuit there somewhere - the phrase "lifetime guarantee" looked actionable to me - but a legal friend told me the manufacturers' lawyers would simply claim the phrase did not mean "lifetime of the user" but "lifetime of the tape": in other words, the tape is guaranteed to last as long as it lasts.  I expect there is a similar loophole in the word "forever".  Clever people, these lawyers.
Roger



===================================================
Roger Smither
Keeper, Film and Video Archive
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ,  UK
Tel:         (UK) 020 7416 5290   (International) +44 20 7416 5290
Fax:        (UK) 020 7416 5299   (International) +44 20 7416 5299
E-mail:     RSmither@xxxxxxxxxx
Website: www.iwm.org.uk
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