(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
There have been many strange legal cases between bands and brands. They have occurred for various reasons, with money often motivating the decisions of either side. However, whenR.E.M.decided to sue Kit Kat, it wasn’t a payday they were seeking but a battle to restore the reputational damage done by the chocolate manufacturer.
In 1995, when the legal action took place, R.E.M. were at the height of their commercial powers, and everybody wanted a piece of their pie. Unlike most acts in their position, they never craved a place in the limelight, and their success was always secondary to their artistic integrity. While this should be taken for granted, it’s an ever-increasing rarity, and they bucked the mould.
Understandably, they were swarmed by brands who wanted to associate themselves with R.E.M., including Microsoft, but despite the financial benefits, it wasn’t of interest to the group. Much to their frustration, Kit Kat didn’t consult the band before beginning a radio promotion to give away tickets to see them in concert. When they did catch wind of the competition, they immediately contacted their lawyers.
In the United States, Kit Kat is a Hershey Foods Corporation subsidiary, and in 1995, the band fronted by Michael Stipe were scheduled to headline Hershey Park Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Ahead of the show, the radio promotion began without the band’s authorisation and collated a database of details from contestants.
Two weeks after they lodged their lawsuit, it was announced R.E.M. had reached a settlement with Hershey, and the incident was chalked off as a “misunderstanding”. In a joint statement, they said, “R.E.M. and Hershey have determined that the misunderstanding arose as a result of a mistake by a third party who designed and pre-packaged the promotion notwithstanding R. E.M.’s long-standing policy against providing any product endorsem*nts.”
The details of the third party remained undisclosed by R.E.M. and Hershey. However, they did agree to pay a “substantial” fee to a selection of charities of the band’s choosing. Surprisingly, the group also decided to honour the competition and give away tickets to the concert. “Not wanting to penalise the promotion contestants for the mistake, R.E.M. agreed to allow the contests prizes to be awarded,” their joint statement said.
Throughout the 1990s, R.E.M. were headstrong in their decision not to associate themselves with brands, and this case with Kit Kat is a prime example of the anti-corporate ethos which fuelled their creative process. However, it’s also notable how they didn’t want to disappoint their fans and decided the right thing to do so was to let the competition winner attend their show in Hershey.
