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The War On Smiley
First Wal-Mart decided to cut back its use of the “Smiley” logo, the iconic happy yellow face that figured prominently in the company’s advertising for some 10 years. Now the company is embroiled in a cross-Atlantic lawsuit over the Smilie logo, which Wal-Mart wants sole rights to and which Smiley’s French creator refuses to unhand.
It’s “ironic”, a Wal-Mart spokesman conceded in a media report, that the dispute is about a smiley face, but he said the image was still “very closely identified with our company.”
But the CEO of SmileyWorld, who claims his father created Smiley nearly 40 years ago, disagrees.
It’s a “very cheap mass-market store,” Nicholas Loufrani told Forbes.com. “In the past three or four years I’ve changed my strategy and we don’t want to be associated with mass-market accounts. Our main objective is to be able to sell our products in the American market without any confusion with Wal-Mart.”
Wal-Mart leadership, looking to boost the company’s image among shoppers of a higher income bracket, recently put contracts with longtime ad agencies up for review after one of them “came up with” a campaign some say they’ve seen before.
If the company is serious about changing its advertising strategy, why fight for sole trademark rights to a logo it plans to “roll back”?
Click here to read more about the fight for Smiley.
Click here to read more about Smiley’s once-quiet departure.
Click here to find out about Wal-Mart’s “Extreme Makeover” strategy.
Posted by Laura Jack on Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Click Here for a Printer-Friendly Version
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COMMENTS
This country is going down the toilet very quickly and there are three things that I see will be left, 1. the ultra rich, 2. illegal immigrants and 3. Wal-Mart.
The rich take over and want control of everything, the illegal immigrants want to take our jobs, and Wal-Mart wants to destroy our freedom to choose wipe out the competition and kill everything in its way.
And our elected politicians from Washington, State, County and towns don’t care and look the other way. If this is the future it looks pretty scary to me. This is NOT the future I want.
I HATE WAL-MART!!
Linda Wilson in
Tuesday, May 09 at 05:26 PM
“This country is going down the toilet very quickly and there are three things that I see will be left, 1. the ultra rich, 2. illegal immigrants and 3. Wal-Mart. “
Been hearing this for decades. There are more middle-class people in the US than ever. The ultra-rich are a very small minority.
“the illegal immigrants want to take our jobs”
Take? They earn them by being better at them. Nothing wrong with that. If your job gets “taken” by someone else who is better at it, you were not very good at it and did not deserve it.
“Wal-Mart wants to destroy our freedom to choose wipe out the competition “
Fat chance. You are paranoid if you believe this to be true. Just have some perspective: look in the past at A&P;, K-Mart, Sears, and other such “retail lions” that roared as much as Wal-Mart does now. Where are they now? Wal-Mart’s just one among a huge number of competing companies. That is all they ever will be. Some other company will likely come along and clobber them (and to many reading this, that won’t be too soon!).
“And our elected politicians from Washington, State, County and towns dont care and look the other way”
They SHOULD look the other way and butt out of retail. This is really not something government should get involved in. It’s not their business. While there are problems with illegal immigration, the immense contribution to the economy and the fabric of the country as a whole by immigrants who are good at doing productive jobs is also something Congress should “look the other way” on.
z in
Tuesday, May 09 at 06:33 PM
In a nutshell:
Once again, z in has demonstrated why this website has become nothing more than a repository for the captious and fallacious ramblings of two opposing sides, that will in all likelihood, never agree on MOST of the points that get raised.
All too often, certain posters try to pass off their specious reasoning or “arguments” as being “logical.”
I suspect that for many readers (myself included), reading the postings on walmartwatch.com, has become as enjoyable as Sisyphus’ rolling of the rock.
Fortunately, this has motivated me to spend more time on the golf course this summer!
ScrewedbyWal-Mart in Anytown, USA
Tuesday, May 09 at 07:25 PM
Screwed,
dont tell me you are walking away from this good cause!!! So many Wal-Mart employees will feel let down.
Big T in Rogers, AR
Tuesday, May 09 at 10:14 PM
tut tut. I believe that is: “So many Walmart ASSOSIATES will feel let down.”
Sara in Calgary, AB
Tuesday, May 09 at 10:42 PM
WM has now given another reason for the French to dislike us.
Gupta1 in Pennsylvania
Wednesday, May 10 at 09:11 AM
The so called ‘Smiley’ is the product of the 1960’s counter culture.
Wal-Mart began using it around 1996.
Grow up Wal-Mart. It’s not your toy.
JM in USA
Wednesday, May 10 at 01:55 PM
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