By now you know how much I love the Coca-Cola brand and advertising, and this beautiful gem of a billboard is no exception:
What I’m left wondering is whether consumers might view this as a co-branding campaign between Coca-Cola and Ford, and whether Coca-Cola felt the need to obtain permission from Ford to depict the back half of a candy red 1966 Mustang convertible (the detail to the left of the wheel was the give away for me on make and model, in case you’re wondering).
No Ford logos are visible, but there is enough of the vehicle shown for at least certain consumers to recognize it as a Ford Mustang convertible, whether or not they can identify the year.
We had to dig deep into the DuetsBlog archives to find our discussion of a similar billboard ad featuring the front portion of a Chevrolet Corvette in a Schlitz Beer advertisement: Using Another’s Body to Sell Your Products? The Problem of Airbrushing Non-Traditional Trademarks.
Let’s assume no permission was obtained, since no logos from the vehicle are visible, but what are your thoughts about whether Ford can control the use of this much of a classic Ford Mustang to help sell another’s products? And, if Ford has enforceable rights, does this constitute fair use?