- Home
- Business & Marketing (829)
- Editorials (656)
- Entertainment (2032)
- Fashion (1030)
- Highbrid (189)
- Honeys (2873)
- Humor (946)
- Music (5215)
- Need to Know (2207)
- News (2047)
- Podcasts (4)
- ARCHIVE
Monday, March 17, 2008 | 12:19pm
You Got Straps We Got Straps TOO!
Strapped Condoms sends the legal team after Highbrid Nation. Bad Move.
I’m usually a mild mannered individual. But when it comes to my team, My Nation…I don’t play. If you’ll remember about a week ago I wrote a Marketing Matters post entitled “Strapped Condom Ad Featuring Lil Wayne Misses ‘The Whole.‘ You’ve probably seen the ad somewhere if not here first. Well last Friday we received a cease-and-desist letter from an attorney “representing” Strapped Condoms which, among other things, accused me of using the “images and likeness of the [Strapped] in a defamatory context.” The letter then went on to THREATEN us to remove the images or face “legal actions” and “immediate equitable relief, including damage claims, should you fail to remove this material.” I have included a copy of the letter below. I have blacked out certain names to protect their privacy.
To Whom It May Concern:
I am representing ######## and Strapped LLC. It has come to our attention that materials (the likeness of characters, video and graphics concerning Strapped Condoms and the Artist “Lil Wayne”) posted on your Website are the sole property of our client Strapped. The images that you currently have posted, in regards to Strapped Condom Campaign Ad, have not been approved for release by Strapped Condom LLC. Strapped and ########## has not approved and disassociates themselves from the public dissemination of this material. Strapped has never authorized this material to be disclosed or published and your continued display of the material could result in your company being held liable for violating Strapped’s proprietary rights, and for the possible defamation of #########. Your continued dissemination and use of this material is in violation of Strapped’s statutory and legal rights. All images and likeness of the said parties are being used in a defamatory context and need to be removed from your sites & or publications to avoid any further legal actions.
Therefore, Strapped demands that you cease and desist from disseminating the material posted at the referenced web site or publication immediately, including any hyperlinks to other locations where the information may be available from all web sites and servers under your control. Strapped reserves its right to seek immediate equitable relief, including damage claims, should you fail to remove this material.
Please contact this office and provide confirmation of your compliance with this request.
Sincerely,
##############
So here’s my open letter to you:
Dear Strapped,
You picked on the wrong cat and the wrong company. See contrary to your belief, Highbrid Nation is NOT a two-bit blog that you can intimidate. The comments I made on the aforementioned blog post were not only covered by my First Amendment right to Free Speech but I’m also covered under “Fair Use.” You see my blog was based on OPINION…a very informed opinion but an opinion none the less. If you want to protect your content, perhaps you might not want to use Myspace as your site host. Their policies further make any content you post more public.
So I tried to be nice, give you a heads up that I thought your ad was putrid. Apparently you took my constructive criticism very seriously because since my comments you’ve actually changed the ad creative (shown below). Don’t worry I won’t charge you for the marketing consultation…that one is on the house; the next one won’t be.
This is another example of the sensitive ass business of Hip Hop. I think you, the brass over at Strapped should really pull the leash on your legal team. The NEGATIVE attention you’ve received from blogs like Highbrid Nation and others only boosted your brand recognition…EXPONENTIALLY. Before last week you were a little known regional brand and now because of what I called a “marketing foul-up,” one could argue your brand has gone national…maybe international. Who cares if I feel your ad was basura, maybe you should keep your mouth shut, ride the wave and make some bread. I’m sure your phones are buzzing off the hook…but no. Instead you want to make this a bravado competition, showing off your lawyer. Well I got suits too…and mine are tailor made. See I’m the best researcher in the game and the Freedom of Information Act is a bitch…one might be best served to have their facts in order before you go barking up the wrong tree.
The funniest thing about this whole ordeal is that in my original post I tried to BIG YOU UP!
“I do want to send a strong shout to Omar and the dudes at Strapped Condoms
however. They’re doing some tremendous things to not only build black business but raise PREVENTION awareness and safe sex campaigns. Its not easy competing with incumbent industry giants like Lifestyles and Trojan. So although the creative doesn’t exactly hit on this one, the message is clear, Stay Strapped!”
I guess that’s what I get for trying to reach out to other black businesses. I’ve drawn the line in the sand…
Juan Perez
Highbrid Nation
Brooklyn, NY
FILED IN Business & Marketing, Editorials, Highbrid, Music, Need to Know
nice, f’n clowns
Thanks for the heads up fam. Your articulation is impressive. Keep up the good work with the site, it looks great.
Thanks a lot. Us bloggers need to stick together.
Wow S dot. Tell ‘em how you really feel! I don’t blame you tho. It’s funny because just this morning I got an email about frivolous lawsuits and I was thinking about how our justice system is so abused and misused. Strapped is just mad because their ad missed the mark (COMPLETELY) and they ended up looking like idiots! Their fault. Nonetheless, I’m glad you won’t be bullied by such ludicrousness! Keep doing what you doing!
It is laughable. They have no ground at all to “demand” that we do anything.
thats the same exact C&D I got mailed Friday night. big up on your letter.
Hopefully you didn’t remove it. All we did was throw money in their pockets and that’s the thanks we get. I guess people don’t understand publicity. All publicity is good publicity.
“Who cares if I feel your ad was basura..” I love it!
Screw them.
Like your response. Very well said… Favorite line: “Well I got suits too…and mine are tailor made.”
Don’t be bullied by sorry ass folk.
Tell em why you mad son, Tell em why you mad!
Pingback: » Weezy? Are Those Rumors True?
Pingback: Strapped Condoms Brings Out the the Big Guns « On221.com
lol Thanks for the tip! I had to share this one! I didn’t get the email though. Good response too, by the way.
Thank you, Thank You.
Do your thang, boo…i was at Shae’s blog when you commented about the cease and desist order. Thanks for standing up!!
No Doubt…thanks for the support. I refuse to be pushed around and the sad thing about it is I showed love at first.
damn dude, we didnt get anything from them..good thing. i would have laughed them all the way to court. thats bullshit man!
scott – http://wearemusicgeeks.com
Something tells me they’ll be rethinking their strategy or at the very least their mail merge next time.
appreciate it boss, come again, i’m feelin’ ya site also
Handle that BI on this BS son.
That’s wzup!
Pingback: You’re Shitting Me, Right?!? at Practise Makes Perfect*
I’m not taking mine down
http://rudenoutspoken.blogspot.com/
You work it Juan!
You have shown great intellect, brass balls and all the backbone you need to meet this jackass head on.
If you run out of words holla at me, I get extreme pleasure out of formulating letters that make it good and plain to the intellectually challenged.
Proud of ya!
Thanks Shelia…I appreciate the support.
Pingback: Necole Bitchie.com » Strapped Condoms: Boy Bye!, Plus Lil Wayne Gets Mobbed
Pingback: Quick To Back Down | CRUNK + DISORDERLY || LONG LIVE PEDRO
I am proud of you! so many choked and backed down without doing their homework or research. Fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke because that first ad campaign sure was.
It wasn’t a joke though…the ad was really terrible (in my opinion) of course. lol.
yeah, that was hilarius. They didn’t realize how big they are now.
Neither did they. Apparently they thought they could intimate some bloggers. Little did they know. Just because its called a blog doesn’t mean we don’t have resources too. Got Straps, We got Straps too.
Sometimes people hire a lawyer and hide behind the protection of a lawsuit. If you put trash out in the public then public will let you know what they think. Perhaps they should have invested in a FOCUS GROUP instead of the lawyer. Marketing 101.
What they need to rethink is the “lawyers” they have on retainer….that “letter” was poorly written and if a true “lawyer” wrote it, he needs to consider a CEASE and DESIST letter to the “law school” that gave him his degree. Side-eyes and shakes head at online legal education…
LMAO…very good. Like I said before…I think the focus group would have been a better investment than the lawyer.
OWNED!
I’m in total agreement……their original ad was pure “basura” as you so eloquently put it! Instead of coming @ you correct they tried to strong arm you, & it blew up in their faces anyway. All that legal jargon for what? I guess to him it looked/sounded good & he must’ve felt he was putting those thousands of dollars spent on law school to use. Just proved the notion that you really can buy anything online (i.e.: a law degree). Lol!
*Side note to Strapped*- Strap up w/ a better legal team. One that actually does thorough research………it may save your life. You know, just as your product endorses.
Secondly………”opinions are like assholes, everyone’s got 1″ & if you don’t get used to that saying “those opinions will become hemorrhoids……a pain in your ass.” So Strapped……get used to it!!!!!!
Mayne get off the boo boo
Its not about Lil Wayne…its about Strapped.
Thats right, show them that they cant use there Big Brother, law terms to scare people. Thats what they get for being stupid! thanks for visiting, goblinscanteatme.com.