Unicorn - The New White Meat

[fatchowmein]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/blog/2010/0...?icpg=pbfiasco

Recently we got the best-ever cease and desist letter. We're no stranger to the genre, so what could possibly make this one stand out from the rest?

First, it's 12 pages long and very well-researched (except on one point); it even includes screengrabs of the offending item from our site. And we know they're not messing around because they invested in the best and brightest legal minds.

But what makes this cease and desist so very, very special is that it's for a fake product we launched for April Fool's day.

It wasn't the iCade, or the Dharma Initiative Clock, or even the Tribbles 'n' Bits Breakfast Cereal.

No, it was the Canned Unicorn Meat.

The very special but also very real letter is from the National Pork Board, who claims we're infringing on the slogan "The Other White Meat," a slogan they're apparently thinking about phasing out anyways. A screengrab of the product page is below.

Luckily, the Sisters at Radiant Farms, where the unicorns are nursed through old age before being slaughtered, canned, and brought to market at ThinkGeek, have nothing to worry about--this kind of use is protected as a parody. (We're hoping the NPB doesn't tell the Sisters that unicorns don't actually exist; it'd break their little sparkly hearts.)

We'd like to publicly apologize to the NPB for the confusion over unicorn and pork--and for their awkward extended pause on the phone after we had explained our unicorn meat doesn't actually exist. From our press release [PDF or text]:

"It was never our intention to cause a national crisis and misguide American citizens regarding the differences between the pig and the unicorn," said Scott Kauffman, President and CEO of Geeknet. "In fact, ThinkGeek's canned unicorn meat is sparkly, a bit red, and not approved by any government entity."

[Face]

I saw that image as an avatar somewhere else, I had no idea what it was, funny stuff!

[Pappy1]

Hi fatchowmein,

Guys on this site have far too much time on their hands!

Pappy1

[Keiko]

Hi fatchowmein,

Guys on this site have far too much time on their hands!

Pappy1

RC Cola and Moon Pies, but we have a real good time. :p

[Pappy1]

Hi Keiko,

I've gotten that impression! (Enjoyed the pics of your new puppies.)

Pappy1

[j allen]

This made my day just a little better. Something about cease and desist letters always does that... :D

[cstmar01]

thats funny. It looks more like sparkly poop than anything.