The members of Slipknot are ready to have it their way--and that means the masked metal mavens want to shut down a new Burger King marketing campaign.
Earlier this month, Slipknot ordered its minions in the legal department to fire off a cease and desist letter to Burger King executives and their advertising agency, threatening a trademark-infringement lawsuit over a series of ads hawking the chain's new Chicken Fries and featuring a band bearing a remarkable resemblance to Grammy-nominated outfit.
In the spots, currently airing on such networks as MTV, VH1 and Spike TV, the fictional band Coq Roq is decked out in masks similar to those worn by Slipknot and performs such ditties as "Bob Your Head" and "Cross the Road" in an effort to persuade head-banging foodies to make a beeline to the nearest BK for the newfangled delicacy--which are fried chicken strips with dipping sauce. BK also launched a Website, CoqRoq.com, touting the band and its music.
"It is obvious that the television advertising and Website are designed to conjure up the image and persona of a live performance of Slipknot," writes band attorney Howard Weitzman in an Aug. 4 letter, a copy of which is available online at the Smoking Gun, which first reported the story. Weitzman notes that Coq Roq's getups include "a gas mask as worn by Slipknot's Sid Wilson, a kabuki-style mask as worn by Slipknot's Joey Jordison, and a mask with dreads as worn by Slipknot's Cory Taylor."
The lawyer claims that the resemblance "is no coincidence." He says that Burger King's parent company had contacted the band's label, Roadrunner Records, in September 2004 to recruit the band for an "adversitising campaign designed to motivate young people to vote." BK wanted to use Slipknot's "loud voice" to tap into the prized demographic, Weitzman writes, claiming that some fans have already confused the fake band with the real Slipknot. He demands the fast-food purveyors pull all Coq Roq-related material from TV and the Internet.
But Burger King attorneys cried fowl, er, foul, and have made the high-stakes game of chicken literally into a federal case. The fast-food chain filed suit against the band and its merchandising company last Friday in U.S. District Court in Florida, seeking to have a judge declare the Coq Roq campaign kosher.
"The Coq Roq band is a mock heavy metal band that is markedly and obviously different from Slipknot except for the generic fact that both play heavy metal music and wear masks," reads the lawsuit, also obtained by the Smoking Gun.
The apparently hip BK counsel goes on to name check several other metal bands who wear masks whilst they bang their heads, including KISS , Marilyn Manson, Mudvayne, Gwar, Mushroomhead, Los Straightjackets, the Insane Clown Posse and the Spits.
Burger King legal reps are also asking a judge to have Slipknot reimburse the food chain's legal fees.
No response yet from the Slipknot camp, but we're guessing the band's lawyers are getting ready to tell BK to cluck off. (As reported by E! Online)
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