I applaud responsible business. On that, Sony has never been remotely close to a socially responsible company. They wouldn’t know responsible business if it bent them over the knee and spanked them silly. Choosing rather to lock down their customers in Sony Land. Sony memory sticks, power supplies, peripherals, and the avoidance of having to follow up on their warranty and service agreements are all SOPs for Sony. They also sold a boat load of shoddy batteries. And let’s not forget the Sony rootkit debacle—legendary.

Don’t get me wrong, they make wonderful products, but when a company is so abrasive, so spiteful, and so heavy handed to those that pay their bills and keep them in the life style they are accustomed, it’s really hard to like them (and I’ve tried, trust me). Their products are elegant, gorgeous, and well delivered, but their Gestapo tactics and almost Hitlarian attitudes upset and hurt a lot of people. Yours truly has not purchased a Sony products since they refused to cover a screen replacement on an old mobile phone (invariably finding a loophole in the system) some three years ago. But they got something right in the JK Wedding Youtube video.

Rather than adopt the strategy that many others have “begrudgingly” decided to take against copyright infringement, they pumped the video and produced a viral marketing landslide that saw an aging song re-hit the charts. A success story? Hardly. A new marketing paradigm? Most definitely. I’d like to give some accolades to Sony and Chris Brown, but I think I would have liked the success to go to a company and someone more deserving. Let’s not be so quick to forget what Chris did to Rihanna earlier in the year. And after all, it’s not like Sony did anyone any favours here. They just made oodles and oodles of money off nothing more than someone’s idea of a terrific wedding. A shame, but it’s a start. Maybe all this talk of intellectual property rights will settle down a tad. I mean, everyone is suing everyone here. I bet someone has a patent on the fart machine. I wouldn’t be surprised if a man get’s a nasty C&D after passing gas on the C-Train.

See that RIAA/MPAA. Sometimes it pays to loosen up that Dr. Doom-like iron grip on the proles, I mean people. After all, people are just people. Whether the CEO of Microsoft or the guy that bagged your groceries tonight. Everyone just wants a fair shake. What good is music if no one can listen to it? All these heavy-handed measures do is drop quality of life. If the entertainment industry just wasn’t so bloated and top heavy.

Check out the video (courtesy of YouTube).

On a personal note, the video illustrates a truly terrific idea. Congratulations to the happy couple (Mr. and Mrs. Kheinz)! It adds a much needed jolt of excitement and whimsy to a wedding. I mean, it’s a celebration, not a walk to the firing squad (contrary to what my married friends tell me).