Idolatry – But Not Too Much
Posted on | May 1, 2009 | 1 Comment
I just received an email from Cafe Press announcing their new “American Idol” portal. They are inviting members to create and market American Idol themed merchandise to be included in a big store front. Here is the fine print:
All images created for the Official American Idol Fan Portal must
comply with the following rules. Please note that these rules may be
updated from time to time.
© 2009 FremantleMedia North America, Inc.
- No alterations, reproductions, or resemblance of the actual oval
logo
- No substitution of words, catchphrases or images to be used inside
of the oval logo
- No use of any images of contestants (past and present), or images of
host Ryan Seacrest, or images of any Judges (past and present or guest)
including without limitation Paula Abdul, Kara DioGuardi, Randy Jackson
and Simon Cowell
- OK to use contestant names only
- OK to use names (first and last) for Ryan Seacrest, Paula Abdul,
Kara DioGuardi, and Randy Jackson
- No use of cartoon, caricature images of contestants (past or
present), judges, or Ryan.
- No reference to drugs or medication
- No derogatory reference to race, gender, religion, mentally
handicap, obesity or physically impaired
- All images must be tagged with “american idol”
- No use of Simon Cowell’s name, image or likeness
- No use of profanity, vulgar or hate language
- No use of explicit sexual language, images or graphics
- No use of copyrighted material from the television series or its
promotional materials (e.g. no use of images of the television series,
television series posters or from the television series website)
American Idol is a registered trademark of 19 TV Limited and FremantleMedia North America, Inc.
Licensed by FremantleMedia Enterprises.
So, basically, they want you to play along, as long as anything you make has virtually no connection to the show and/or performers whatsoever. That should make for some really special swag. Good thing the products will be tagged with “american idol” or no one would ever find them.
Comments
One Response to “Idolatry – But Not Too Much”
May 1st, 2009 @ 3:28 pm
I’ve told this to marketers for years, but they never listen: “You don’t own your brand — your customers do.”