When it comes to appropriation, there's a fine line between "imitation is flattery" and plain old plagiarism. In class, we talked about examples such as Hugh Jackman doing Christopher Walken's dance in the Lipton commercial, and Honda's use of a Rube Goldberg style chain reaction in their commercial "The Cog."
Another example that I found is that of Bundaberg Red. This commercial is sitting on that fine line, copying a very famous scene from the Clint Eastwood classic The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Everything about this commercial mirrors the movie: the setting, the music, even the type of shots and camera angles, such as the close up shots of the characters' eyes and hands. It's difficult to say whether something like this is crossing the line into a dangerous copyright area, but personally, I think it works really well. It's something that a large portion of the viewing population would easily recognize, but clearly makes it its own with the use of the Bundy Bear and cans instead of guns. It's also making fun of itself by having a shot of the band playing the western music and looking very Mexican.
Verdict: I think the commercial has used appropriation appropriately.
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