Just as news organizations and rock bands sue to keep their good names out of political mudfights, one might think Budweiser would seek to quash that clever pro-Barack Obama remake of its annoying 'Whassup' ads from 2000. But it turns out the beermaker has no choice: Budweiser only licensed the concept, from Charles Stone III, after the filmmaker created it as a non-commercial short film. The expired five-year license cost just $37,000, but Stone told BusinessWeek he's now happy about how things worked out:Back then, people gave him a hard time about the low price. Now Stone, a diehard Obama supporter, says it’s more than paid off. “That I’m able to use an idea distributed by a huge company, who made a lot of money off it, so that now when I put out what I want to say, it’s recognizable, and it sparks — that’s worth $1 million to me.”
In this case, the idealistic position could also be the smart money move: "Whassup" suddenly looks like an iconic part of American culture rather than a cheesy flash-in-the-pan ad campaign. With another advertising deal, Stone can take that cachet to the bank, should he ever feel the need to do so.
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