Chipotle is suing Grammy Award-winning R&B artist Frank Ocean after he backed out of a commercial deal.
TMZ reports Mexican-food chain Chipotle hired Ocean in a $425,000 deal to record a remake of the song "Pure Imagination" from the film "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory."
The song was meant to accompany a campaign promoting local and sustainable farming. But Ocean backed out of the deal the day he was set to deliver the song. The reason — he says he wasn't aware the finished product would include the Chipotle logo. (Via Billboard, Chipotle)
Ocean says he thought the campaign was a project purely advocating responsible farming practices.
According to Rolling Stone, Ocean was shown an incomplete version of the film without the logo when he agreed to the deal. But Ocean's lawyers claim, "Chipotle told Frank that was an intentional element of the campaign."
His lawyers also say Ocean was promised the right to approve the recording and advertising, and Chipotle breached the contract when it refused to remove the logo.
Chipotle denies those terms were ever a part of the agreement and is now suing the singer for more than $200,000 it had already paid him plus unspecified damages. (Via The Hollywood Reporter)
With more than 12 million views on YouTube, it looks like the ad campaign didn't need Ocean anyway. Chipotle instead enlisted singer Fiona Apple to cover the song for the ad — logo included. (Via Chipotle)
