In the late 1960s, long before McDonaldland existed, acid-driven children’s television producers Sid and Marty Kroft were approached by McDonald’s and their advertising agency Needlham, Harper and Steeles Inc, in creating colourful characters to appear in McDonald’s commercials. The Kroft brothers were still riding high off of their successful children’s program HR Puf’n’stuf, about a magical dragon who was mayor of a living island where the trees and flowers and animals talked. The Kroft brothers agreed to allow McDonald’s to use the Puf’n’stuf characters for McDonald’s advertising and worked out a hefty royalty fee. However, weeks later a phone call from McDonald’s to the Kroft brothers told them that the plans to use the Puf’n’stuf characters had been cancelled. Then, when McDonald’s introduced its McDonaldland commercials in the early seventies even a retarded child could see the blatant rip off of the Kroft Brothers characters in the advertising. The Kroft brothers quickly gathered their lawyers together and sued McDonald’s and Needlham, Harper and Steeles and were awarded $50,000 in copyright infringement.
McDonaldland existed, acid-driven children’s television producers Sid and Marty Kroft were
approached by McDonald’s and their advertising agency Needlham, Harper and Steeles Inc, in creating colourful characters to appear in McDonald’s commercials. The Kroft brothers were still riding high off of their successful children’s program HR Puf’n’stuf, about a magical dragon who was mayor of a living island where the trees and flowers and animals talked. The Kroft brothers agreed to allow McDonald’s to use the Puf’n’stuf characters for McDonald’s advertising and worked out a hefty royalty fee. However, weeks later a phone call from McDonald’s to the Kroft brothers told them that the plans to use the Puf’n’stuf characters had been cancelled. Then, when McDonald’s introduced its McDonaldland commercials in the early seventies even a retarded child could see the blatant rip off of the Kroft Brothers characters in the advertising. The Kroft brothers quickly gathered their lawyers together and sued McDonald’s and Needlham, Harper and Steeles and were awarded $50,000 in copyright infringement.
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