Navigate / search

North Face does not wish to be the “butt” of jokes

 

I came across this hilarious story on Gawker and had to share it with you guys.

About five years ago, a Missouri teenager named Jimmy Winkelmann Jr. came up with an idea to spoof the North Face brand  with an online apparel shop named the South Butt. He also conceived a logo that inverted the North Face’s half-dome insignia into a bum and offered it on merchandise such as hoodies, jackets, and caps.

Needless to say, North Face Apparel Corporation was NOT happy about this. They sued the South Butt’s owners for trademark infringement in 2009. The Winklemann family fired back with a long memo that made a mockery of this process (highlights are included below). Eventually, the suit forced South Butt to shut down, but this was not the END (sorry for the bad pun) for the Winkelmann’s. They created another brand called The Butt Face. Motto: “Never Stop Smiling!”

North Face did not like this either and filed another suit, which ultimately led to The Butt Face being shut down. But the brand’s court documents live on, and they are hilarious!

Below is some of the highlights of these gloriously sarcastic documents, as well as some comments left by equally snarky people on the Gawker’s web site. You can’t make stuff like this up! And I couldn’t be happier about that. Butt faces everywhere: I salute you!

The document begins with a crazy quote. (awesome!)

A few pages later,  ”Mutant of Omaha,” “Debbie Does Dallas,” and “Buttwiper” are all mentioned.
(mad props for pulling that one off!)

 Followed up by a reference to the show In Living Color… wow!

(they are totally right about a baby’s butt, for the record..)

“Pornocopious” is one of the most glorious words I’ve heard in a long time.
I will be trying to work that into conversation on a daily basis from now on.

Below are the comments about the article that made me laugh the most. I ADORE sarcasm!