One Direction Breaks Streaming Record With New Single, But Is Blasted For ‘Rip Off’ Campaign

One Direction released their new single this month, marking the first song by the boys since the abrupt departure of Zayn Malik, and within days, the song broke streaming records in the U.K.

BBC News reports that the band’s new single, “Drag Me Down,” broke streaming records in the U.K. this week, with over two million plays. The new song, which wasn’t previously announced, pleasantly surprised fans, many of which claim the single is the group’s best song yet, despite lacking Malik’s strong vocals.

Unfortunately, not everyone is pleased with One Direction’s new single success. Ad-Rock of The Beastie Boys recently spoke out about the boys, and it was anything but flattering.

“When you’re a band and you just get big, you have to take thousands of photos. We were so burnt out with European photographers with 20 assistants telling us to stand on our heads while pouring a beer upside down. We were over that. And you have bands like ‘New Edition,’ no wait not New Edition… the current ‘New Kids On The Block’. What are they called? One Direction.”

Meanwhile, One Direction is also battling the unsettling accusations of promoting a “rip-off” with their “Action/1D” campaign. The campaign, launched earlier this year, asks for fans to upload photos of what an ideal world would look like for them.

Yet, marketing mogul Scott Woodward claims that the One Direction’s campaign photos are too similar to the anti-bullying campaign pics created for the band in 2013.

Woodward, who created the platform for the 2013 campaign, states that the new platform looks “identical to the anti-bullying campaign we created for them.”

The Action/1D campaign photos, which launched last week, depicts a black-and-white picture of One Direction holding a large black sign. The photo was taken by Shamil Tanna, a prominent photographer in the U.K.

The 2013 campaign photo also shows the boys in a black and white photo while Louis Tomlinson holds a “Live Love Move” sign.

While the two photos certainly show similarities, there are also a few differences as well. While the 2013 photo shows the band members in both grey and black shirts, the new photos depicts the four remaining members decked out entirely in black.

Additionally, the size of the photos are in stark contrast to each other. While only one member of One Direction holds a small white sign in the 2013 photo, the latest picture depicts a much larger black sign, in which all four members are holding.

Consequently, Woodward, of SEW Branded, is considering taking legal action against the boys. When asked about legal ramifications, he indicated that it’s being looked into.

“My counsel reviews all creative that potentially infringes on our proprietary creative work, and this instance is no different.”

One Direction declined to comment on the issue.

[Photos Courtesy of Shamil Tanna / Simon Emmett]