Posted by Lisa Hochgraf
News of the absurd really works for me sometimes. I giggled yesterday when I heard the National Public Radio trailer about a group calling unicorn "the new white meat."
That was funny enough. But then I really chortled when the trailer said that The National Pork Board had issued a follow-up statement (to the original 12-page letter from its lawyer) that it knew that unicorns didn't exist.
Yesterday when I went on NPR's site to read more about the story, I saw that things go a little deeper.
"The industry group says it was only protecting its trademark when it issued a cease-and-desist warning to online retailer ThinkGeek for calling a fake unicorn meat product 'the new white meat.'
... "'We certainly understand that unicorns don't exist,' said Ceci Snyder, VP/marketing of the National Pork Board. 'Yes, it's funny. But if you don't respond, you are opening your trademark up to challenges.'"
I'm still giggling. Especially knowing that "in a public apology this week, ThinkGeek said its nonexistent canned unicorn meat is sparkly, a bit red and not approved by any government entity."
But the idea that a company has to take its brand seriously--and protect it--is not lost on me. What do you do to protect your brand? Here's a relevant article to get you started.
