We have an interesting question to answer, leading us into the holiday weekend, during which I suspect a few movies will be watched by more than a few marketing types and trademark types: “Is it trademark infringement if a fictional company or product in a movie or television drama bears the same name or brand as a real… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Television
Subscribe to Television RSS FeedAre TV & Digital Mutually Exclusive? Not at All: Why Multi-Channel Marketing Makes Sense
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Social Media, Social Networking, Technology, Television- David Mitchel, Director of Marketing – Distribion, Inc. AdAge posted an article today featuring CBS CEO Les Moonves commenting why his network is a better fit for media buyers than digital media. One quote attributed to Moonves was: “If you need to reach a mass audience, you’re not going to get that online….We figured… Continue Reading
You’ve gotta be shipping me!!
Posted in Advertising, Television, Trademarks, USPTOKmart recently unveiled a brand new advertisement that’s about as subtle as a shovel to the face. While some have described it as juvenile or immature, I can’t help but chuckle everytime I see or hear it. Maybe that says something about me… Anyway, here’s the ad. The ad, which was initially released exclusively online,… Continue Reading
Colliding Trademark Particles?: Big Brain Theory and Big Bang Theory
Posted in Television, TrademarksAmidst the ugly so-called “spring” weather we’ve been having here in Minnesota, I was watching The Discovery Channel the other night and saw a promo for this new show. The show is hosted by Kal Penn of House and Harold and Kumar fame (and incidentally also has had an on-again, off-again stint as the Associate… Continue Reading
Why One Brand Sponsors the Super Bowl
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Television- Debbie Laskey, MBA There has already been too much written, rewritten, and discussed about the funny vs. annoying vs. heartwarming ads, the surprising power outage and why it happened, and the close score of Sunday’s Super Bowl, so don’t worry. I’m not going to focus this post on any of that. Instead, I have… Continue Reading
Your Super Bowl XLVII Advertising Preview
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Television—David Mitchel, Marketing Manager, ViralMarketing.Biz The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers will be playing in the Super Bowl in just a little less than two weeks. The Super Bowl is much more than just a championship game. It is time for parties, often with copious amounts of salty food being served. For brands, it… Continue Reading
Assassin’s Creed III: Evil George Washington Edition?
Posted in Almost Advice, Technology, TelevisionToday marks the release of probably the most anticipated video game of the year, Assassin’s Creed III. For those of you who complain that video games don’t teach kids anything, this game goes beyond what your history teachers taught you and tells the (not in any way) true story of how the Revolutionary War was pretty much… Continue Reading
Using Old Starsky and Hutch to Sell New Furniture?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Fair Use, Infringement, Marketing, Television, TrademarksThere is a new billboard advertisement on the scene in Minneapolis, Minnesota, complete with multiple meanings and at least one obvious third party brand reference. Multiple meanings because I suspect there may be a generational divide on the obvious Starsky and Hutch brand reference (trademark data of owner Columbia Pictures can be found here, here, and… Continue Reading
Shark Tank. Minnow Diligence?
Posted in Branding, Marketing, Television, TrademarksShark Tank Episode 301 (Money Fragrance) For those who haven’t seen or heard of it yet, Shark Tank is an ABC reality television series in which entrepreneurs pitch investment proposals to a panel of five wealthy and feisty ”sharks” — including these independent and successful investors: Robert Herjavec, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O’Leary, Daymond John, and Mark Cuban…. Continue Reading
Chevy Silverado Super Bowl Ad
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Fair Use, False Advertising, Food, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Television, TrademarksAbsorbing all the television commercials in between football action on the field can be as much fun on Super Bowl Sunday as the actual game itself, at least for trademark and marketing types, especially when your favorite team isn’t even on the field. One of my personal favorites from this past weekend’s Super Bowl XLVI was the… Continue Reading
Not a Merchandising Masterpiece
Posted in Television, Trademarks–Sharon Armstrong, Attorney One of my favorite shows on TV right now is Downton Abbey. No mere period drama, this Masterpiece Theatre presentation has become something of a sleeper sensation, partly for its swooning melodrama and partly for its (some would say romanticized) illustration of the English class system, following the upstairs-downstairs lives of the… Continue Reading
Eat More Anything?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Infringement, Marketing, Television, Trademark Bullying, Trademarks, TTABAn allegation of trademark bullying is in the news again, this time Chick-fil-A is the accused Goliath – charged with overreaching in its enforcement efforts relating to intellectual property rights in the very clever and creative EAT MOR CHIKIN a/k/a The Cow Campaign and advertisements: Perhaps you’re wondering what aspect of the Cow Campaign Chick-fil-A is seeking to protect?… Continue Reading
The Verb-ing Continues
Posted in Television–Susan Perera, Attorney On multiple occasions DuetsBloggers have discussed the risk of verb-ing your brand. While I won’t go into the legal and branding concerns which have been discussed at length, I do find it interesting how frequently these brand verb uses show up in current advertising. Clearly the marketing types aren’t cringing at the use of brands… Continue Reading
“Punch-Dub” Replaced with “High-Five”?
Posted in Television–Susan Perera, Attorney Who doesn’t love a good commercial, because lets face it, there are plenty of sub-par ones out there. And some brands have been more consistent in creating entertaining commercials than others. Maybe you’ve seen Volkswagen’s recently released “High-Five” commercial for the 2012 Beetle that contains some catchy music and is reminiscent of… Continue Reading
When You Verb Your Trademark, You Know What?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Television, TrademarksWell, perhaps more than just about every trademark use guideline in existence, including those offered by the International Trademark Association (INTA) ("NEVER use a trademark as a verb"): (television commercial link on Youtube here) Maybe because you have been following the trademark verbing dialogue here on DuetsBlog and you have learned all about Managing The Legal Risk of… Continue Reading
Messin’ With Google
Posted in Advertising, Genericide, Law Suits, Marketing, Search Engines, Television, TrademarksWhat does Google have in common with Sasquatch? Well, perhaps one possible point of similarity is that if you mess with either, you might get yourself seriously messed up in the process. With respect to the defensive power of Sasquatch, a local Wisconsin business success story, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, has gotten much notoriety with its series of hilarious 30-second television… Continue Reading
Why Publicity Matters, Part II (Best Publicity Strategy)
Posted in Guest Bloggers, Television—Neil F. Anderson, Founder/President, The Courage Group, Inc. Having already discussed Why Publicity Matters last week, the most effective publicity strategy is to position yourself as an expert in your field. Notice how the media, especially television, seems to have the same experts come on shows to comment on stories etc. This did not happen by accident… Continue Reading
Best Buy Criticized for Geek Squad Trademark C&D Letter
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Infringement, Marketing, Sight, Television, Trademark Bullying, TrademarksBest Buy was the subject of some intense criticism at the end of last week when Chris Morran of The Consumerist Blog and Mike Masnick of the Techdirt Blog took Best Buy to task and Mike went so far as to label Best Buy a “trademark bully” for sending a cease and desist letter to Newegg for… Continue Reading
Coca-Cola’s Consistency Most Remarkable
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Goodwill, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Television, Trademarks—David Mitchel, Norton Mitchel Marketing Coca-Cola is celebrating its 125th birthday this month. A 125 year history as a brand is quite remarkable. Very few brands last that long. In its 125 history, Coca-Cola has become an iconic brand globally. Coca-Cola is a great case in showing the importance of the various elements of the… Continue Reading
Aflac Duck Speechless Over Gilbert Gottfried’s Firing
Posted in Advertising, Audio, Branding, Contracts, Goodwill, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Sound, Television, Trademarks–Dan Kelly, Attorney If the Charlie Sheen train wreck has not offered enough fodder for your idle moments, this week Aflac fired Gilbert Gottfried as the voice of the Aflac Duck due to tasteless jokes that Gottfried tweeted in the wake of last week’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Where Sheen was the face of… Continue Reading
It’s All About the Advertising
Posted in Advertising, Marketing, TelevisionA week or two after the Super Bowl, I’m not the only one still talking about it (our guest blogger David Mitchel discussed it yesterday). This year’s commercials did not wow me like I expected (sorry, cute Darth Vader kid). What surprised me was the lack of brand message. Sure, Doritos has edgy ads, and… Continue Reading
The Galleria of Retail Jewelry Store Taglines
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Goodwill, Marketing, Television, TrademarksOn this Valentine’s Day, after enduring weeks of the same endless running of national retail jewelry chain advertising, leading up to this annually celebrated day of love and affection, I thought it might be fitting to try a few retail jewelry store taglines on for size and examine – at least from a trademark perspective – their protect-ability and likely placement on the… Continue Reading
Thoughts from the Marketing Side
Posted in Advertising, Marketing, TelevisionYou might have some idea of what I’m doing over there on the DuetsBlog sidebar. Or not. Either way, I can solve the “mystery.” Not an attorney, and don’t pretend to be one, but I do work with attorneys at Winthrop & Weinstine as their marketing communications coordinator, and that involves working on the backend… Continue Reading
Verbing the DirecTV Brand Name
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Genericide, Marketing, Television, TrademarksYet another brand name and trademark being promoted as a verb in the tagline or signature at the end of each television commercial: "Don’t Just Watch TV. DirecTV." For more on the subject of trademark verbing and the risk of genericide: Just Verb It? A Legal Perspective on Using Brands As Verbs: Part I Just Verb… Continue Reading
Duets Blog Authors
Steve Baird
Just so you know, I'm all about brands and the law, both professionally and personally. I regularly annoy family and friends in retail stores by focusing on product labels—not to buy the product, but to read the fine print and ask, "Who owns these brands" and "Did they really register those marks?" More...
Brent Lorentz
Although I wish I could say my path to the law was the result of a lifelong dream or calling, it was more the result mere curiosity and an affinity for leather-bound books. More...
Tiffany Blofield
Although my initial career path was to be one of the Supremes (not the musically talented ones with platform shoes and sequins, but rather, the nine wearing sensible shoes and pressed black robes in DC), I will likely stay in Minnesota as I have never lived anywhere else. More...
Brad Walz
My law career started on the ice…as a defensive hockey player (we’re not talking professionally…and if I were, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into law). More...
Derek Allen
In hindsight, writing about creativity and the law may have always been in the cards for me. I began training for a career in litigation at an early age by finding ways to disagree with pretty much anyone about pretty much anything. In my longest-running “case,” I argued with my middle school math teacher, Mrs. Jabs, for the better part of four years over whether, even if I got the right answer, I had to show my work to get full credit. More...
Martha Engel
Although my interest in gadgetry and my aptitude for math eventually led me to become an engineer, my ad executive father and artistically gifted mother fostered an appreciation for the creative from a young age. More...
Anjali Shankar
When I was in elementary and middle school, I loved writing short stories. Creativity and imagination seem to come naturally to people when they are young. More...
Timothy Sitzmann
I have always considered myself to be a creative person. Full disclosure: I'm not claiming that I've created anything good, merely that I have created things that exist.More...