Back in November of 2007, Rolling Stone ran a mysterious editorial called "Indie Band Universe," where they listed some independent bands from across North America. However, the piece was also littered with strategically placed mentions of Camel cigarettes because, well, it was alleged to be an ad paid for by the tobacco company.
Understandably, the bands involved were pissed off. Two of which, Fucked Up and Xiu Xiu, decided to take legal action, putting together an 18-page complaint and taking the tobacco giant to court. The class action lawsuit kicked off in January of 2008, and now two years later, a three-justice panel has ruled in favour of Camel cigarettes.
The Daily Swarm points to a post on Law.com, which summarizes the court's decision. Essentially, the layout of the Rolling Stone piece was not enough to suggest that the bands were unwillingly endorsing Camel cigarettes. The court concluded that Camel was paying for advertising, not influencing any of the decisions that the magazine made.
Fucked Up put the whole thing a little more succinctly. In a blog post written the day after the decision (January 31), they wrote, "It's a real bummer, but it was so long ago that we started the case that it's not really that much of a shock. But just for anyone who was still keeping track, the bad guys won. Bummer!"
Understandably, the bands involved were pissed off. Two of which, Fucked Up and Xiu Xiu, decided to take legal action, putting together an 18-page complaint and taking the tobacco giant to court. The class action lawsuit kicked off in January of 2008, and now two years later, a three-justice panel has ruled in favour of Camel cigarettes.
The Daily Swarm points to a post on Law.com, which summarizes the court's decision. Essentially, the layout of the Rolling Stone piece was not enough to suggest that the bands were unwillingly endorsing Camel cigarettes. The court concluded that Camel was paying for advertising, not influencing any of the decisions that the magazine made.
Fucked Up put the whole thing a little more succinctly. In a blog post written the day after the decision (January 31), they wrote, "It's a real bummer, but it was so long ago that we started the case that it's not really that much of a shock. But just for anyone who was still keeping track, the bad guys won. Bummer!"
