M&M’s In Trouble Again!

For several years, Mars/M&M’s have been dressing up M&M’s as classic characters for their commercials, including “Star Wars,” Pirates of the Caribben,” and “Transformers without much litigation, aside from a 2008 suit by the “Naked Cowboy” which later was settled out of court.

This time around, Zorro Productions claims to own the trademarks associated with the Zorro character. Zorro productions is suing Mars/M&M and BBDO (the ad agency responsible for the commercial) in California district court alleging damages of at least $500,000.

My opinion is that Mars has a great chance at a “fair use” defense; the commercial is obviously a parody and not meant as a competitor or a market replacement for anything Zorro… in fact, it’s really the kind of free advertising for youngsters under 10 that would cost an owner a small fortune!

~James