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6.21.2010

freerunning footage fuels "dewmocracy" controversy


Scandal! In the world of free running, where friend betrays friend!
Earlier this year, a guy named Steven Wong won Mountain Dew's "Dewmocracy" video contest. Unfortunately, his entry allegedly used someone else's parkour footage without permission... and that guy is now mad: Man Calls on Pepsi to "Dew" the Right Thing.



Here's the entry that won it, "Ninja Gets Back Mountain Dew". You can see the piece edits in the original parkour footage, which can be seen here. Wong's even wearing a t-shirt and wristband to make himself look like the freerunners in the original video.



Winning the contest led to a gig producing this Mountain Dew commercial, now running nationally. Am I the only one who thinks the professional commercial is even worse the original contest entry?

All this is coming out now, after the fact, because the owner of the original footage discovered Wong's entry online. I guess Steven needed some stuntmen for his entry, and found a cheap and easy way to get them. Cheater! More here: SJ Man Calls on Pepsi to "Dew" the Right Thing. (Thanks, Nelson.)