I love Bloomberg Businessweek because they have a sense of humor. They cover serious subjects, and then they run with the fun stuff but with a straight face. Hence their very amusing analysis of which catchphrases are trademarked and therefore off-limits (hint: , apparently). Seriously.
Check out their sample of what phrases have been legally protected:
Barbarian Group: “It’s gonna be awesome”
Great Clips: “It’s gonna be great”
Amscan Holdings: “Who you gonna be?”
Bank of New York Mellon: “We should talk”
Physicians Mutual Insurance: “Maybe we should talk”
STG Marketing: “Who’s got your stuff?”
General Mills (GIS): “How do you roll?”
Coinstar (CSTR): “How much do you have?”
ERewards: “Life should be this rewarding”
FAR Inc.: “Gonna get some”
Material Girl: “This is where I’m at”
Vox Media: “Every day should be Saturday”
“How much do you have?” is not something I have ever associated with Coinstar. I am quite sure I have asked it before, but at no point did I picture a big green coin-eating machine while speaking. What I found really interesting is that according to the article, you need to demonstrate use of the phrase, which means somewhere Coinstar is using it on some marketing material…possibly for bookies looking to clear up some debts? Even better: Rachel Zoe’s “I die” is trademarked. This is probably a sign of the apocalypse, so stock up on some Campbell’s. After all, it’s “Mmm mm good!” (TM)
Have any trademarked catchphrases or marketing terms made you scratch your head? Let us know in the comments!
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