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Nine’s chip off the MKR Block?

Is Nine's promo for The Block just a bit too close to one Seven made for My Kitchen Rules?

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It must be a week for “plagiarism”  …..but while it can’t be levelled at Nine’s new promo for The Block, there do seem to be some similarities with one of Seven’s 2011 promos for My Kitchen Rules.

Tiny contestants running amok amongst giant utensils…. you be the judge.

At least it’s not as blatant as rip-offs by Rescue, Wide World of Sports, Underbelly  -or even Seven’s AFL “Love this game” clone.

We’re watching…..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MIBbfO4_DI[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIKqoY9mplU[/youtube]

31 Responses

  4. Channel 9 : “Please please please can everyone watch us every night like Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules? We’re desperate. So very desperate…”

  6. some people just love to bash 9….but in this case its a good point…mind you both promos are awesome…those saying it lame (Todd) trying working in a creative industry where the pressure is on to come up with something totally new and different everyday…its not that easy… so good on them…both are good promos and i have no problem with it…or this article…just the people that just get on here to whinge about one network all the time

  7. @jay jay – do you even read the articles before you jump in with both feet (which are now firmly planted in your mouth)? In the very first sentence David says that claims of “plagiarism” can’t be levelled at Nine, and then goes on to say that there “…do seem to be some similarities…”. Having some similarities is not the same as being the same and that claim is not made.

    He then asks us to be the judge. Well I, and most of the commenters so far, agree that it is a bit of a rip-off. If you can’t see that simply replacing the kitchen utensils with a Mousetrap-style game board doesn’t make it completely different then I can’t help you.

    And then you finish off with a snarky dig at David about a slow day. Whiny and ungrateful.

  10. Well in plane sight it certainly does look like they have plagiarised. According to the copyright law the idea is not protected only the expression is. Which means if it is different in the expression ie: A board game instead of a obstacle course, then that would not be against copyright law because whilst the idea to have a giant setting and tiny contestants in it is not protected the expression of having run through an obstacle course or a board game is protected under copyright law. So legally speaking they the 9 Network did not infringe any copyright law. Simply put you only have to make enough changes to an idea in order for it to not infinge copyright law.

  11. I reckon Channel 9’s is just more blatantly obvious as a board game, rather than Channel 7’s ‘obstacle course’. One of their better promos, but will The Block be a success, 5 nights a week??

  15. Ch.9 has chosen possibly the most annoying song of the past few months as its advertising theme song for this show. Now I’ll have that piece of crappy, repetitive music stuck in my head all day! On another note, what was with the MKR promo and those girls “climbing” the cheese grater?! Made me shudder just thinking about what that would do to your fingers.

  16. Because promos have more money to spend on smaller outcomes, management want to know that what they’re paying for will work. It’s easier to show someone else’s promo and say “we want to do this” than for execs to imagine a concept.

  21. Absolutely no doubt about it, Nine’s promo department has ripped off yet another shows promo clip as the basis of one of their own. Channel Seven have the right to be absolutely furious and I hope TT does a story on what a cynical rip-off it is. The promo clip for this year’s season of MKR was absolutely brilliant, so I’m not surprised Nine decided to rip off the concept for The Block, as Nine appears to be completely bereft of new ideas, hence they have to borrow from their competitors. It is as blatant a piece of thievery as the Bear Gryll’s rip-off for Rescue: Special Ops.

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