12/22/24
January 31, 2004
The NFL lowers the boom on Vegas parties.: Apparently a number of Super Bowl parties in Las Vegas have to be cancelled because, according to the NFL, charging someone to be able to see the game on a large-screen TV constitutes copyright violation, in some way. I confess I am very fuzzy on just what the NFL's complaint here is. (NYT Registration required)
"As far as I'm concerned, the NFL is full of soup,'' said Mayor Oscar Goodman. "I would tell them to go shove it.'' What other city's mayor would speak like this except that of Vegas. I love it! So they can just change what they are charging for, right? To view the TV is free, but the beer and weeners cost $39.95. (Offer not valid in some locations. /announcer voice)
posted by Dick Paris at 05:51 AM on February 01, 2004
this brings to mind a question I've had for months - why can't the radio stations say Super Bowl in their commercials? They all say "win a trip to the NFL's Big Game. We can't say it, but you know what we mean" or some such shit. Would they really sue someone for using their game's name in a radio contest? Yep, they would. "Super Bowl" is actually a trademarked brand name, and to use it in marketing pitches, you have to pay the NFL. This once came up in a restaurant I worked for -- we had a promotion where we gave away free bags of Doritos, but we were forbidden to say "Super Bowl". One local company that makes dip had a radio spot last year that went something like, "We can't tell you what event you'd want our dip for, but we can tell you that it would be SUPER...like a BOWL of dip!"
posted by Jaquandor at 01:57 PM on February 01, 2004
this brings to mind a question I've had for months - why can't the radio stations say Super Bowl in their commercials? They all say "win a trip to the NFL's Big Game. We can't say it, but you know what we mean" or some such shit. Would they really sue someone for using their game's name in a radio contest? That's rigoddamneddiculous.