Devo to sue McDonalds over happy meal toy

Devo wasn't making idle threats: When a problem comes along, those Akron, Ohio dudes whip it. If you bought a happy meal from McDonald's in April, you might have noticed that one of the American Idol-themed toys, "New Wave Nigel," bears a striking resemblance to a certain iconic synth-pop act. Well, the members of Devo noticed too. They're mad as hell, and not gonna take it anymore.

The band contends that the toy's costume is too similar to Devo's early-80s stage getup - shades, an orange jumpsuit and a hat that looks suspiciously like Devo's Energy Dome. Mark Mothersbaugh and Co. also allege that the toy plays a "Devo-esque song." "The New Wave Nigel doll that they've created is just a complete Devo rip-off and the red hat is exactly the red hat that I designed, and it's copyrighted and trademarked. They didn't ask us anything," says Devo bassist Gerard Casale. "Plus, we don't like McDonald's, and we don't like American Idol, so we're doubly offended."

The appropriation of Devo's image by a multinational corporation is pretty ironic when you consider that Devo frequently took aim at the follow-the-leader mindset of modern American culture (hence, "devolution"). Something tells us this won't be the last time someone tries to make a quick buck on our collective memories of new wave.

Related links:
News: Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh to exhibit artwork across U.S.
Devo on Myspace
YouTube: Devo - "Whip It"

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5 Comments

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By Joe Wallace on June 26, 2008

I was really digging this article until the final paragraph where the author clumsily attempts to dress down Casale for the lawsuit.

You can't compare DEVO initiating a lawsuit for the alleged theft of its intellectual property with the same kind of behavior DEVO railed against in their music.

DEVO is just another in a long series of groups that have had its intellectual property "appropriated" by corporate giants. Nike did something similar with Fugazi years ago, and no musician on earth could blame Casale and co. for trying to protect their livelihood.

To take DEVO to task for this by implying hypocrisy is not just ill-informed, it's lazy writing. You guys know better than this.

By Joe Wallace on June 26, 2008

Of course, now that I re-read this, it seems you might actually be taking Mickey Ds to task instead...a bit confusing there in the last paragraph. I might owe somebody an apology :-)

Ahh, yes. The internet. The ability to cram one's foot into one's mouth at a highly accelerated rate.

doh.

By Bob Jenkins on June 26, 2008

You shouldn't be embarrassed, Joe. The poor writing is to blame. Instead of writing that "the whole situation" is ironic, rather than just McDonald's marketing. McDonald's appropriation of Devo's image/property for use as a child's toy can fairly be described as ironic. "The whole situation" includes Devo's responsive lawsuit, which isn't ironic at all.

By Colby Whipple on July 4, 2008

At first I was skeptical of the validity of devo's lawsuit. I thought Mc D's toy would have been something like a dude in a yellow jump-suit with big hair, or even the dome, and be totally unrelated to music.after seeing "New Wave Nigel" and reading the article it is painfully obvious that they ripped devo off. The purpose of the doll is to emulate the 80's new wave culture, and devo was definately a big part of that. Major faux pas McDonalds. Someone's carreer is over.
P.S. I hate new wave.

By Iron Slick on February 4, 2010

YEA, DEVO! Twist away the gates of STEAL! They are through with being cool! Enough said!