PALM DESERT, California — Environmental nonprofit Save the Earth is suing Honda, saying the use of a "Save the Earth" T-shirt, worn by an actor in a commercial for the Civic, wrongly implies the group's endorsement of the car as environmentally friendly. The group says it has trademarked the "Save the Earth" slogan.
The lawsuit was filed against American Honda Motor and ad agency Rubin Postaer & Associates in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The Save the Earth Foundation is looking to get Honda's profits from the ad campaign and stop any future use of "Save the Earth" by Honda. "We aren't affiliated with [Honda] and we don't endorse them," said foundation chief Neal Pargman in a statement.
The foundation's blog notes that Bank of America received licensing from the group to use the "Save the Earth" logo and trademark in TV commercials through 2009, and it names a licensing agency, Synergy Licensing, that handles use requests for the organization. The group's statement says Honda did not get permission and has ignored cease-and-desist letters.
The Save the Earth Web site and blog show numerous photos of Save the Earth apparel being worn by celebrities and fans, and the blog gives detailed instructions on how to make stickers at home using the Save the Earth logo. The logo shows a globe encircled by a rainbow-colored ribbon with the words "Save the Earth" in script at the top.
Inside Line says: This is one way to make sure the public knows your group exists. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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colorado1974 says:
03:31 PM, 01/04/2010
started it? All I said was that someone at Honda didn't do much diligence before launching this campaign. Doesn't matter what anyone thinks is right or wrong, it IS WRONG to use someone else's logo without permission. Doesn't matter if it is Guinness or Nike or Save the Earth.
I can see the position of Save the Earth 100%. Do they want someone who is responsible for polluting it to use the logo? Hell no! Especially Honda which doesn't make class-leading fuel efficient cars anymore. They may have in the 70's, 80's and 90's but not in the 2000's.
Everything Honda does pollutes the earth. From Cars, to Jets, to Generators, to ATV's to Personal Watercraft to motorcycles, EVERYTHING THEY MAKE POLLUTES and if you want to use the logo, ASK FIRST!
aston_dbs says:
10:16 AM, 01/04/2010
To 'sylvia':
But Mommy...?! 'colorado1974' started it...!
;-D
Happy New Year, All...!
sylvia says:
10:11 AM, 01/04/2010
Seems we've gone off-topic here to the above article. Let's stay on-topic and knock-off the personal attacks. Thanks!
aston_dbs says:
10:01 AM, 01/04/2010
First, let me say that colorado1974 just cracks me up... Apparently, he has been watching way TOO MANY Chevrolet commercial on TV...
Second, greed certainly knows no boundary. Especially the ones involving such "organization" like 'Save The Earth' is just plain sad... maybe borderlining pathetic.
All that matters is money money money money... MONEY!!
rodger12 says:
01:21 AM, 01/04/2010
Honda is making some pretty ugly vehicles now. I bought a Honda Pilot, and it is on its second transmission already. It only has less than 20k miles and reliability is an issue with parts "falling" off the interior. I think Honda is going to follow Toyota with some hefty recalls in the future. I would never consider an Accord or Odyssey though. I have too many friends that have had too many problems with those two nameplates. I think I have leaned my lesson as far as Honda is concerned. I dont think I will be stepping foot in the showroom. The service bay at Honda is somewhere I just cant keep out of. Lesson learned.
dips200 says:
07:42 PM, 01/03/2010
It's ridiculous that Inside Line makes a cynical comment at the end of its piece and everyone says that it's things like this that are "taking America down." If Honda took any one of these commenters' photos to use in an ad they would want to be paid for their likenesses. A corporate logo is a company's likeness and they have the right to be compensated for its use. Especially because it would've taken Honda about ten minutes to secure the right to use the logo in its commercial. If anything it's things like corporate laziness and mismanagement that are taking America down. I mean, if you really think about it, how much legal work goes into the Edmunds' commercials even if they don't have corporate logos in them? I'll let Laura Sky Brown look that up and let everyone know the answer.
Also, to you people arguing off topic, in my mind there really isn't too much of a difference between a Malibu, an Accord, and most of the other econo-brands. They all put a premium on gas milage and its a crap shoot whether you get a car built with genuine quality or one that lasts the warranty and then nukes itself. Hell, five minutes after I picked up my Subaru the center console started coming apart, and it doesn't even get the same milage as a Honda.
colorado1974 says:
03:30 PM, 01/03/2010
the crosstour isn't a crossover. despite corporate spin, it's a 5 door hatchback much like the ill-fated malibu maxx was.
chevy cobalt @ 37 mpg gets better economy than a civic.
chevy malibu @ 33 gets better economy than accord
traverse @ 24 gets better mileage than pilot and odyssey ex
avalanche and silverado @ 21 and 22 get better mileage than ridgeline
equinox @ 32 gets better mileage than element and CR-V
I wasn't putting down honda, I feel than Honda has lost its way by making the Accord the same size as a Chrysler 300, by making gas hogs like the ridgeline and pilot. Vehicle for vehicle, honda does not lead in any fuel economy stats. That was the only point that I make. How can a 300 + hp silverado get better mileage than a ridgeline? Hell, the Dodge Ram has better reliability and quality than Ridgeline does. Chrysler Town and Country have better reliability than Odyssey does.
At least Honda hasn't fallen into the abyss like toyota has. Talk about a company that has lost its way. any more million vehicle recalls? Rust issues? acceleration problems? wow.
mazda609 says:
01:44 PM, 01/03/2010
Just to clear some things up for you guys I decided to make this comparison:
http://autos.msn.com/research/compare/default.aspx?c=0&n=3&i=0&tb=0&ph1=t0&ph2=t0&dt=0&v=t107819&v=m13017
Unfortunately I was not able to compare the V6 engines since they did not have any info on the V6 Malibu. All you have to do is look under quick facts and you will find the fuel economy.
risdo says:
12:49 PM, 01/03/2010
Oh, I see he's talking about the 4WD Crosstour. I don't see how that's a Malibu competitor though. Even with 4WD and 271 HP it gets 25 on the highway. The 2WD version gets 27 MPG highway. That's comparable to other crossover vehicles. I agree about the looks though. The boss parked one in front of my office.....Barf.
risdo says:
12:16 PM, 01/03/2010
He's still wrong about the gas mileage. The V-6 Accord Sedan is rated at 29MPG....not 25. The V-6 6-speed coupe is the only one rated at 25. I've been selling them for going 15 years now.