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Britney Spears’ New Product Stealing from mondonation and Charities
Britney Spears’s new fragrance, Britney Spears Believe will be out on counters in October, but is available for Pre-order online. The brand for this new fragrance is a complete rip of mondonation’s brand…
Somewhere there is a design team who should be fired.
Last year I stumbled across a very interesting company coming out of Vancouver, Canada. mondonation had a simple, clever and meaningful idea that allowed people to customize a personal mantra onto a t-shirt. A statement of something they believed in… Some were heartfelt messages “I believe everyday people can make a difference every day” and some that are just fun or silly “I believe the hokey pokey is what it’s all about.”
The kicker about mondonation is that it was set-up to support lots of international charities, by donating part of the profits from each shirt sale. I had a chance to speak to Ward Bingham the founder of the company last year about what they were doing and how my disaster relief agency, www.HODR.org could find support from what he was doing. We since have joined up as a partner charity and I’ve been a huge fan and supporter of the project ever since.
mondonation has reached thousands of people with their “I believe�? t-shirts. All you have to do is watch some of the YouTube videos to get an idea of how many people they’ve reached. This one video has been viewed almost 700,000 times.
Damaging a Wonderful & Positive Brand
mondonation created a powerful message and opportunity with their i believe t-shirts and thousands of people have purchased their shirts and supported the many charities working with them. I am one of those people. I personally own a few shirts and have referred my friends and family to buy them too… but I don’t think I want to become a walking billboard for Britney Spears new product… and if something isn’t done about her fragrance logo… that is exactly what my shirts will become.
Elizabeth Arden the company behind this new fragrance should be ashamed of themselves for putting out a blatant copy of another companies logo and for potentially damaging the wonderful brand mondonation has built around the i believe design. They should be coughing up some serious cash for this blunder, but the sad part about this, is that even paying a settlement doesn’t repair damage to the brand. I hope they pull the fragrance ASAP, compensate mondonation and the i believe shirts can continue on being a supportive and successful project.
Tell Elizabeth Arden to Shut Believe Perfume Down
Use their web form, or any of the contact information below to let Elizabeth Arden know that they stole the work of another company and are potentially damaging this other companies brand.
Elizabeth Arden Consumer Affairs
309 South Street
New Providence, NJ 07974
Phone: (800) 326-7337
E-mail: consumer@elizabetharden.com
*Send a copy of your emails to Ward Bingham (ward@mondonation.com) at mondonation to let him know he has your support.
mondonation Quick Facts:
mondonation’s business model and positive campaign which gives proceeds from each shirt sale to charities launched six months prior to the product red campaign.
mondonation became an incorporated company April 12, 2005
mondonation logo and “believe�? logo designed by jeff Harrison, july 2005.
mondonation website launched march 21, 2006 – designed by burnkit and fuse interactive
First shirt sale November 2005
Over 10,000 shirts have been sold and exist in over 100 countries worldwide.
Belief Disclosure: The author of this post believes in fresh powder.
August 21st, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Man that’s completely ridiculous. Kudos Darius for this great find. Just as you thought Britney’s image couldn’t get any lower…
August 21st, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Why hasn’t the original designer done anything about this? As a designer myself, I would be all over Britney Spear’s Team for blatantly ripping my logo, and a HUGE lawsuit would entail. Think of all the money she’s going to make.
August 21st, 2007 at 12:51 pm
That is out of order!
August 21st, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Shame on EA for not properly doing their research! The designers of the new Britney “believe” logo need to be dealt with accordingly for stealing mondonation’s well established logo. I hope mondonation takes you to the cleaners!
Also a big question mark goes to why you would want such a tarnished personality to be spearheading any product?? And using an old photo to boot! Very funny.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I have to say – that I’m sorry – and I may not be aware of how ‘big’ the mondonation logo is, as I live in the UK;
but…
the neither of the logo’s are exactly hugely individual pieces of creative work (sorry!) and to be fair the word ‘believe’ with the ‘i’ highlighted in a different colour is hardly a giant individualistic leap in terms of graphic design.
So; by some coincidence; maybe by pure chance the colours happened to be the same? (Saying that the mondonation logo seems to come in a variety of colours – mostly cyan; again I could be wrong!)
I think it’s very easy to criticise as blatant copying; but in all seriousness it just appears to be an unfortunate mishap!
August 21st, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Anthony,
Being a creative, I’ll admit that after surrounding yourself with other’s work while brainstorming, your output can easily be influenced.
There’s no question in my mind that whoever is behind the Britney Spears logo came across the mondonation one at some point in their creative journey.
Whether they consciously or sub-consciously copied it, it’s still wrong.
Conceptually, it works with mondonation because their message is “I believe”. Britney’s perfume is just “Believe”.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Looks to me like a simple process
1. Draw blank on logo ideas
2. Search google images for “believe logo”
3. Find mondonation logo
4. Say to self “that looks nice, they’ll never know”
5. Create it with a slightly different font
6. Throw in Britney’s name (and TM of course)
7. Brute force market and make it your own
Cheap shot from a huge conglomerate. Time to hire a new art department. These types of mistakes are inexcusable in the professional world, especially in the enormo-corporation arena.
Personal opinion of course. It’s just too coincidental to be an honest “mistake”. If some guy named Darius figured it out, you can bet their art department has this in a file as well.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:09 pm
I have to agree with Eric on this one – it’s easy enough (though not likely unconsciously) to do a search like that and “borrow” certain design attributes. This seems to be that very tale, or something awfully similar to it.
I’m glad there’s some attention coming to this, and hope EA will do the right thing here and that their design team will get some serious heat for the blunder.
August 21st, 2007 at 7:07 pm
[...] Britney Spears’ New Product Stealing from mondonation and Charities (via: Young Go Getter) [...]
August 21st, 2007 at 7:08 pm
If you notice, only the “Britney Spears” part is technically trademarked. They are totally trying to get away with ripping people off because they didn’t even try to trademark it.
August 21st, 2007 at 7:09 pm
You might be idiots. Instead of lambasting the company that did this, did you ever think that it might have been *gasp* allowed? Maybe they didn’t steal it, maybe they are going to give to some of the same charities, maybe the creator of mondonation let them do this. Did anyone think of that, or are you all too quick to throw accusations?
August 21st, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Anthony,
The similarity is not merely in the highlighting of the ‘i’, but also the colors used and typeface similarity.
August 21st, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Platinum,
Why bother altering the font at all if you’re TRYING to make a correlation between the two?
Thought of but quickly dismissed – as are you.
August 21st, 2007 at 7:18 pm
What a load of BS (Britney’s initials, NATCH!) I can’t stand this biyotch, and would love to put a dent in her bank account. After all, she’s only going to buy ugly hair extensions, cheetohs and Crest Whitening Strips for her kids with all that moolah of hers!
And as a Graphic Artist, I can ASSURE you that BS has infringed on the original logo of Mondonation. It may not look that amazing to YOU, but it’s still a copyrighted work of art.
Here’s a copy of the letter I sent to Elizabeth Arden:
“Stop Britney Spears from releasing her rip-off perfume called, “I Believe/Believe”. I can’t BELIEVE you people are duped into BELIEVING that anyone wants ANYTHING to do with this trainwreck called Britney. You’re going to lose money. You’ve already lost integrity and BELIEVABILITY. I’m telling my friends about this situation. As someone who’s always bought your fragrances, I shall CEASE until this travesty is aborted.”
Simply copy and paste, and send this if you want to complain.
Form to fill out to complain:
http://corporate.elizabetharden.com/consumer_affairs.php
Address of Elizabeth Arden:
EA Consumer Affairs
309 South Street
New Providence, NJ 07974

Phone: (800) 326-7337
E-mail: consumer@elizabetharden.com
Help stop other artists from being ripped off.
Mal
August 21st, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Stop complaining you fairy…
let them both use it!
It’s not the end of the world!
You know it makes sense!
August 21st, 2007 at 7:19 pm
I’ve used the contact form to express my disdain. Hopefully others will do the same. Mondation had a great concept – how gross to have it stolen (intentionally or not) by a multinational corporation.
August 21st, 2007 at 7:32 pm
These are on me:
Inspire (with a pine green i surrounded by aubergine text)
Redeemer (hooloovoo blue me surrounded by Japanese pink text)
It’s hardly “To Kill a Mockingbird” or “Death of a Salesman”, is it? If anything, the publicity generated and/or settlements paid to mondonation will only serve to further their cause.
The sound of a single “invisible hand” clapping….:D
August 21st, 2007 at 7:41 pm
I’m a graphic artist and it just looks like a co-incidence to me. Any 12 year old could, and probably would, come up pulling the “i” in believe to create the logo. And checking mondonations website shows that this isn’t their logo at all. It’s their name set in type. Who cares?
August 21st, 2007 at 8:03 pm
@Platinum
I know the founder of mondonation. I spoke with him before posting this article. It was not allowed.
August 21st, 2007 at 8:09 pm
PWNED!
August 21st, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Someone should inform the media about this. Today’s modern American media, the kind that loves to lap up stuff about Brittney Spears and Paris Hilton, would love a story about Brittney shamelessly stealing from a charity.
August 21st, 2007 at 8:48 pm
“Today’s modern American media, the kind that loves to lap up stuff about Brittney Spears and Paris Hilton, would love a story about Brittney shamelessly stealing from a charity.”
you think spears designed this logo herself, or something? most likely not. she probably saw it for 20 minutes, if at all.
August 21st, 2007 at 9:00 pm
It looks like a coincidence to me. I think they came up with the slogan “I Believe,” and from there using the I in Believe in a contrasting color is one of the ideas a designer would come up with.
The colors are opposite in the color wheel, one of the common ways to pick colors.
Of course, we all love our conspiracy theories. And there’s no fun in picking up the phone and asking when a ranting blog post will do.
August 21st, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Thanks for putting this together. Imagine if mondonation had infringed on an Elizabeth Arden logo? Hmmm … lawyers would have already descended on Vancouver to turn over cease and desist orders.
I emailed Elizabeth Arden and I hope others will do that same.
August 21st, 2007 at 9:41 pm
I am an Art Director/Designer
I have worked for several major Brands world wide, both in graphic design and clothing design and this is the stuff that always freaks out entire teams of designers.
What if we copied something by accident or deliberately and get busted
Shit rolls downhill and the fish stinks from the head down
Whomever did that logo is going to have some explaining to do.
SO-I believe its simple
Logo was copied – In my mind ther is no question and arguments about “anybody could do that” seem ridiculous. This is Elizabeth Arden people and they are required to work extra hard to ensure they have performed due diligence.So I think even their legal team should have some culpability here. Elizabeth Arden is also a very large company with ultra deep pockets and could potentially drag this out for a very long time. Some American Lawyers are beyond the bottom of the barrel and I believe this would be how a case like this is handled for EA. It doesnt matter what it costs just make the little guy go away, this is wrong and continues to string the tale of profits over soul. Many people will say that is crazy and many will not, you choose.
Re: Ms. Spears
Remember those movies where they Kryogenically suspend people, well move over Walt DIsney cause here comes Britney.
It is really sad to see what has become of Britney Spears and the fact that EA continues to have a relationship with her is stupifying. I will encourage my female friends to boycott both the RipOffney Spears fragrances as well as any Elizabeth Arden product, unless of course it is a knock off from China, because they cant live without that Red called-Seduction.
Elizabeth Arden began a company many years ago that took a lot of hard honest work to build, I have to believe that she had the business acumen to avoid this type of situation.
I look forward to watching this play out
go go Mondonation
August 21st, 2007 at 10:23 pm
How could they have NOT copied that logo? I’d much rather see the money go to charities than Britney Spears anyhow… she’s a wreck, and not because she’s poor!
August 21st, 2007 at 11:04 pm
[...] VÃa [...]
August 21st, 2007 at 11:17 pm
hey
here is the deal, my lawyers have advised me that i can not comment on this. which is a drag because i really want to say a lot.
but what i can say is that i have put EVERYTHING into this business. not just ALL my money, but endless 100 hour weeks of building a brand from scratch around an idea that has carried me through many difficult times; i believe in myself and believe that i can help to make a difference in the world
when mondo began i would read every belief that would come in and respond to each person with gratitude for believing in my experiment. unfortunately this has become an unmanagable task. eventually i hope to hire someone to do this full time.
through these emails i was sent a message that kind of embodies what the “believe” experiment is all about. it was from a woman who had bought one of our shirts. she was wearing it while in a bank line up and the person in front of her asked “what do you believe?â€? the woman turned around and on her back was written, “I believe I am a survivor.â€? She is a breast cancer survivor and the woman who asked was too. They have become friends. The fact that these two woman were both breast cancer survivors would never come up in usual bank line chat.
“believe� shirts cut right to the chase in a way that few other things do.
and just one more thing that will give you some perspective on where this whole idea came from. this is my story and i warn you, it is emotional.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxyE2tuTtz8
thank you for your support and a HUGE thank you to darius for writing this post. and if you haven’t checked out his site already, go to http://www.COLOURlovers.com
August 21st, 2007 at 11:26 pm
I believe (ok that was lame ..sorry..:S) ..it could have been a coincidence. But yea..chances are more likely that someone subconsciously was inspired.
August 21st, 2007 at 11:41 pm
[...] Read more here [...]
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:12 am
As someone who often does film and photography work for non-profits, I can say that these organizations are always strapped for cash, and that folks working for the good of the less fortunate typically work for less than they’d make at a corporate job. Compare that to spoiled brat types like Brattney Spears, or just about anyone from Hollywood, and, well, there is no comparison. Brattney should be ashamed of herself, but probably isn’t. One can only hope she gets fat and people will forget she exists.
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:57 am
Interesting… But the comments focusing on Britney Spears (or, actually, the image of her created in the media) make me a bit sad – this person has had nothing to do in creating this logo, a rip-off as it may be. This is about the company Elizabeth Arden, not about some half-fictitious media personality. You try to rise against this type, but all that brat gossip and such just shows how dependent of her and this kind of entertainment you are.
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:42 am
I used their form to mail them this:
The internet buzz is that the logo for Britney Spears perfume was copied from a charity. I saw both logos — it’s blatantly obvious!
While I’m not surprised that BS would be so creepy, I am surprised that your company allowed it to do through. Make it right by apologizing publicly and coming up with a unique logo.
And on the subject of BS, what moron thought it would be a good idea to make a perfume connected with a skank? If I try to imagine what BS smelled like, I get: greasy hang-over vomit!
Get someone like Reese Witherspoon or Julia Roberts! I imagine them smelling good and classy.
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:20 am
[...] i believe that it’s a total ripoff [...]
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:11 am
I have to agree with a few of the comments above to be honest – it’s not about Britney Spears; it’s about the company behind the fragrance.
And ubnfortunately as much as people want to talk/gossip about moral rights and stealing other peoples work; the only two people/teams that can really comment are the teams tha are responsible for the branding of these two projects.
Besides – as any Graphic Designer will tell you; the two logo’s above are not – repeat – not, glaring works of graphic design brilliance and originality. These things happen some times; purely by co-incidence (whether sub-concious or not) It reminds me years ago of a college project I did years ago when I was16, for a bottled drink called D.N.A (cheesy!) that involved a large picture of a thumbprint – needless to say I was really impressed when I sawit in a bar a few months later. But it doesn’t mean by anychance that they had opied me/I had copied them….it’s just basic visual thinking to be honest!
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:17 am
And again – I hate to say it; but I can’t seem to find that green/pink logo combo on their website…??? Im assuming it is part of their brand – but it doesn’t appear to be the overall part of the logo. (Again I may be completely wrong here)
August 22nd, 2007 at 6:32 am
[...] (via) [...]
August 22nd, 2007 at 7:12 am
@Anthony Ruck – look at the picture of the box the perfume is presented in, the logo is on the front of the lid.
http://britneyspearsbelieve.com/ and click on the “Introducing” text.
August 22nd, 2007 at 7:46 am
hey –
sorry – meant that I don’t really see the mondonation logo in the same colours as the britney spears logo colors
August 22nd, 2007 at 7:57 am
[...] of the Suprnova BitTorrent portal. A year ago, this would have been the top story of the week. Take a look at some of the other popular stories on Digg today. This blogger has it right. Nothing on [...]
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:10 am
i believe you got ripped off, ward! jeez! i’m glad you have a lawyer, because she owes you BIG time!!!!
ward is my friend, and i know he’s been at this for a long time, and according to copyright law, he’s got a hell of a case. let her PAY for the rights to the name…
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:22 am
The blatant copyright infringement on my friend’s brand “believe” by mondonation needs to stop. Take the copycat Britney Spears “believe” off of the market immediately, or face the consequences of copyright infringement. I have been personally involved with mondonation for more than a year, and am prepared to testify in a court of law if necessary.
Thanks for your immediate reply.
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:57 am
“This one video has been viewed almost 700,000 times.” Could it have anything to the prominent cleavage?
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:30 am
I received a settlement from a major publisher when a famous kid’s book auhor ripped off my book and I won because I had a registered copyright, documentation, and a knowledgable IP lawyer who filed the complaint in a U.S. federal court. There are statutory damages of at least $100,000 just for copyright infringement, maybe more for a trademark violation. Hang in there and fight it. You will win if you have documentation. We were up against the largest law firm in the U.S. and a Rambo lawyer but the incompetence was amazing. It’s just an opinion but I think they only care about running up the bill for the defendant. Keep that in mind when you’re inundated with tons of legal paper. Good luck!!!
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:33 am
[...] to the site, Young Go Getter, Elizabeth Arden’s new Britney Spears fragrance, Believe, ripped off the logo of a somewhat [...]
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:42 am
[...] a break can she? When it’s not marying K-Fed it’s her perfume partner, Elizabeth Arden completely ripping off a great project. Mondonation has been around for a couple of years so they are definitely being shamelessly copied [...]
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Emailed EA. This is Plagiarism of an existing brand and should be stopped.
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:51 pm
At least it’s a pretty lame and boring logo… If I was going to go through all the trouble of stealing something, I would choose something way better.
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:17 pm
I believe everyone should get “Britney Spears and Elizabeth Arden are a bunch of tools” shirts made up. And that I’ll be sending an email very shortly.
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:39 pm
The logo is generic. It sucks. Any one can create it in a phase one project. I think Elizabeth Arden should fire some people behind it and that this organization should redesign their logo so that it’s not so GENERIC. Good idea behind it. the logo is GENERIC. just like this typeface i’m using with a splash of color.
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:17 pm
This charity the word “believe” in every color variation of the word.lol
So if anyone was to use the word for a logo, it could be made to seem they are copying from this charity.( who does not own rights to the word believe.)
The color font isn’t even the official logo for their charity, and I do not see Britney’s green/pink color scheme for “believe” anywhere in that youtube video. lol
I think they could just be pissed that she used the word believe… as if they have some sort of rights to the word.
August 22nd, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Yep, that’s what happens when you use a completely obvious and generic logo for your identity solutions. It’s doesn’t take long for someone else to stumble across the some idiotic solution.
I mean come on, “I” in believe…. Spare me the accusations.
August 22nd, 2007 at 6:00 pm
anyone who thinks the green and pink logo conbination isn’t represented on the the mondonation website must be navigating it with their eyes closed. the first two images of people wearing the shirts are in this combination. and if you look at any of the videos you will see this combination in used often.
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:20 pm
I think the designers of mondonation may have unwittingly infringed upon Britney’s registered brands which have been around for years and were published globally in major print magazines, including design periodicals, way before mondonation existed. Britney’s other perfume brands used the same colors and font treatments, e.g. curious (pink and blue) and fantasy (pink and green). To see them, just google “Britney Spears fantasy perfume” or “Britney Spears curious perfume”. With this news being spread around, I’m sure Elizabeth Arden will take action to protect its brand.
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:51 pm
“believe” is a very ambiguous word, but adding to that is the fact that EA animal tests and you have a blatant push against what the company that originally had the word as their “concept logo” stands for and yes, the color combo is identical but lime green and hot pink ARE a serious eye-catching mix.
It would end up being a tough battle because they dont use one color combo as “their thing” at mondonation, but it also remains that they did use that exact combo much before EA did. Could be very interesting to see what comes about. Myself, I would just love to see EA stop with the cruelty..:: gets off soapbox::
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:46 am
I thought I’d see if we can use the influence of Facebook to support this cause, so I’ve set up a group:
Stop Design Plagiarism
To spread the word.
August 23rd, 2007 at 1:01 am
Has anyone even considered the possibility that Mondonation may have “borrowed” the believe identitiy from Elizabeth Arden… which may explain why I’m unable to purchase the exact t-shirt (with green and pink logo) that is seen on the models in their web site. I believe that Mondonation’s “believe” logo with the emphasized “i” is a recent addition to their shirts, not copyrighted in 2005 like the author Darius suggests…and I believe additional research needs to be done to uncover the truth…and I believe that Darius and Mondonation may actually owe Elizabeth Arden and Britney Spears an apology!
August 23rd, 2007 at 4:57 am
The logos are identical with some differences that might be easily overlooked:
1.- The pink ‘i’ works great for mondonation because it emphasizes their campaign’s motto : i believe, while in the BS /pun one, the ‘i’ is pointless, reinforcing the complete rip-off theory.
2.-The kerning on the EA rip-off is a disaster, looks like their designers/agency urgently need a typography course, not to mention an ethics one.
3.-The Britney Spears TM is the tacky icing on the cake, ruining an otherwise positive and well thought logo.
August 23rd, 2007 at 6:41 am
I think what people are missing is the conceptual design of the piece. It would “appear” that the idea is a blatant forgery.
However, colors aside, the fundamental design is debatable. The subtle modifications would make the argument null if it could be proven that these concepts “just so happened” to follow the same design tangents.
It would be a tough case to make if the latter mondonation logo is not trademarked.
August 23rd, 2007 at 6:47 am
This video was posted on YouTube on October 24, 2006.
00:22 – 00:23
There is a banner made by kids with the pink “i”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwGy2zCKESA
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:51 am
Any press is good press; but in our haste, we may have added negative press to a charitable cause. I would suggest that we act ethically and responsibly ourselves by confirming facts before accusing anyone of plaigarism.
I think typophile may be correct about Britney and Elisabeth Arden lending their logo to mondonation for publicity.
A little research indicates that the original concept and design had “i believe” and not “believe” with the “i” in contrasting color. To confirm, I found the original mondonation design featured on http://www.fusetech.ca/portfolio.php?client_id=43 which is indeed “i”.
Regarding the recent addition of the hot pink and green… it’s not available for sale and was used in a publicity event coinciding with Britney’s launch.
August 23rd, 2007 at 8:31 am
Go to the http://www.britneyspearsbelieve.com site and click on the pre-order which will take you to the EA site where you’ll get the tee-shirt for free as a gift.
I think some folks owe Britney and EA apologies.
August 23rd, 2007 at 9:35 am
word play is a common design strategy, so the concept of “i” pulled from “believe” is easily coincidence–until one factors in the similarity of typefaces and the identical color choices, which lend much skepticism to the likelihood that this was either innocent or coincidental.
Total, blatent plagiarism. The “designer” is a shameless hack, and EA is either lazy for not picking up on such explicit plagiarism, or unethical for their complicity.
August 23rd, 2007 at 11:40 am
@ Tyranus What are you talking about? That link you found to FuseTech is the back of the mondonation shirts… the front logo design has always been “believe.”
You speak as if you know thing… but you don’t. As I mentioned before I spoke with the founder of mondonation before writing this post… He has also commented here a few times.
August 23rd, 2007 at 11:45 am
[...] Spears’ perfume logo rip-off From a charity… Britney Spears’ New Product Stealing from mondonation and Charities — Young Go Getter __________________ One of God’s own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even [...]
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:06 pm
[...] Everything about Brittany Spears is lame. I am rather shocked that this sort of thing could still happen in our culture these days. Sign the petition and fight the good fight. Via Coudal. [...]
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:12 pm
I suggested confirming facts is absolutley the correct thing to do before throwing accusations. If you’ve confirmed these facts with the owner of mondonation (that mondonation owns has registered mark for “believe”) then even better!
However, if it turns out that Britney owns the registered legal marks for “believe”, then mondonation gets shafted and in all your haste and anger, Darius, you may end up hurting mondonation more than you’ve helped.
I’m trying to bring reason and maturity to prevent a virtual lynch mob and potential damage to mondonation.
Sounds like this is more about Darius than protecting mondonation.
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:18 pm
Considering the founder of mondonation has also been commenting here and expressing his disdain for the whole situation, it would appear that you’re a jackass.
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:26 pm
@Tyranus You suggested confirming facts and at the same time put out some “facts” that you yourself had not confirmed. Your point about the FuseTech “research” was totally off.
I totally respect the fact that you are questioning things before diving into the “mob”, but saying you’re “trying to bring maturity and reason” to this post is implying we have none without you… and your insults are not appreciated.
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Do you see anything from ward (the founder) that confirms mondonation legally owns the registered “believe” mark? Eric… name-calling isn’t very mature.
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Can someone please get a confirmed message from mondonation that:
1. Their design, in the colours above, existed before the perfume brand.
2. That they are not working with EA on any sort of collaborative promotion.
I would like to wholly support putting pressure on EA, but first I want to make sure it’s based in fact, not rumour-mongering.
It’s been mentioned that someone from mondonation has left a comment here — where exactly?
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Neither is getting into a vocabularic pissing match so I just assume say it how I see it.
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:56 pm
I totally agree wirth Kai!
Here are some facts http://www.answers.com/topic/britney-spears-products
1) curious released in Sept 2004 using hot pink
August 23rd, 2007 at 1:00 pm
We’ve officially reached the “grasping at straws” point of this discussion.
August 23rd, 2007 at 1:01 pm
@Kai Turner
Using http://web.archive.org, I was able to track site launch dates:
http://fantasybritneyspears.com- Sept 2005 (hot pink and green)
http://mondonation.com – Apr 2006
August 23rd, 2007 at 3:36 pm
To those who are asking whether mondonation registered the trademark: it is IRRELEVANT. Copyright and trademark of a logotype are automatically assumed, unless a release is stated. For instance, if I were to right an essay and post it on my site, someone else who reposted that essay as their own would have done something illegal whether or not I stated my copyright of it when I posted it. If mondonation have sent EA a C&D letter, then by inaction, EA have broken the law.
And for the record, I sent off an email to EA, cc to Ward Bingham.
August 23rd, 2007 at 4:25 pm
I’m sorry, but high-end designers in the cosmetics field simply do NOT rip off logos from established sources, no matter how small the organization. These designers have too much pride. It’s an ego trip for them to have their work emblazened across a package of such high profile as Ms. Spears.’
To think such a designer ripped off Mondonation is absurd! You think he never imagined being caught, given the magnitude of the Britney Curious launch? Wake up, people. Now I don’t want to say great minds think alike here, because I doubt that’s the case.
It IS quite telling that Mondonation does NOT offer a color combination of green and purple on its shirts. Leads me to believe the Mondo guy copied the EA guy and slipped it into the website just to make EA look foolish and create a stir here.
Start thinking logically about this.
August 23rd, 2007 at 4:26 pm
LOL, you all really have nothing else to occupy your time with, do you? Yeah, a perfume is really going to “damage” their reputation.
Tards.
August 23rd, 2007 at 4:36 pm
@CyberSpaced The mondonation brand has been around a lot longer than the BRAND NEW Believe perfume. You would have known this if you read the entire article.
Start reading before writing.
August 23rd, 2007 at 4:37 pm
@Matt P Share your blog with us, I want to see what an all important time worthy post looks like.
August 23rd, 2007 at 4:41 pm
To add to CyberSpaced’s comment… that could be a possibility but it could also be a coincidence. Would ward from mondonation do that at EA’s expense?
Noticed a couple of things: 1) mondo’s original design was blue and white. 2) the homepage for mondo coincidentally change within the past day or two to feature the tee shirt in hot pink and green from blue and white.
August 23rd, 2007 at 4:55 pm
@CyberSpaced
Yup…
High-End Designers never rip another’s work.
Fortune 500 CEO’s never practice insider trading.
Professional Athletes never take performance enhancing drugs.
Police Officers never break the law themselves.
High Ranking Politicians never solicit sex from prostitutes.
Prominent Religious Figures never molest children.
… My guess is you work for Ms. Spears or EA, because if you honestly believe what you posted YOU are absurd!
I have a copy of the original PDF proof for the mondonation logo in the green and pink combination, with a creation date of ’05.
People… please stop posting like you know something when you obviously know nothing about what you’re typing.
August 23rd, 2007 at 5:03 pm
@Tyranus
Ummm… Seriously? This is what you consider “reason and maturity” ?
Fantasy is a completely different fragrance… with a completely different brand. Yes, your amazingly keen detective skills picked up on the fact she uses green and pink in her branding, but the text from “fantasy” is a script type treatment… If you knew anything about trademarks and design you would realize this has nothing to do with what we’re talking about.
P.S. If we’re keeping track, you’re 0-3 here on your “facts.”
August 23rd, 2007 at 5:45 pm
@Darius
I know that fantasy is a different fragrance but it precedes believe and mondonation in its use of hot pink and blue.
The facts are BS fantasy first used hot pink and blue way before you. Will you deny this or just avoid this fact? I think you’re avoiding it because there’s no denying http://web.archive.org or the fuse site which has the original mondonation tee shirt design in blue and white.
You may deny this fact; however I would be safe to assume that it could be used to disprove your claims in court (and I highly doubt that you would even go that far).
Third party web archives are unbiased.
Your motive to change the colors to coincide with BS’s new brand is questionable.
I’ve had enough of getting unfairly slammed by you because you don’t like what I’ve revealed.
In the end, I hope that no one is hurt from the negative press regardless of your motives.
Good luck to EA, mondonation and pray for Britney Spears!
August 23rd, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Silly goose, mondonation weren’t ripped off, arden’s using a different font face… //sarcasm….
August 23rd, 2007 at 5:52 pm
It’s the entire logo in question, not just the colors. Just because Coca Cola had a red logo before anyone else doesn’t mean that Target should change theirs.
I truly hope that was your last comment because your points are pointless and your burning bandwidth.
Goodbye :)
August 23rd, 2007 at 5:54 pm
@Tyranus: I’m sure some company used pink and green in their branding long before mondonation or Britney. The 80’s were big on these colors so I’m sure there is somebody out there with a pink and green trademarked logo.
Using the same colors in a brand is not trademark-able. The Red Cross can’t sue Target because they had a Red + before Target used the Red bullseye. Britney’s new Believe fragrance uses the say style of font, and the same colors as mondonation. It is the combination of these things that makes it a rip.
I wasn’t avoiding your “facts,” I just wasn’t acknowledging it as a fact.
Again, what you “revealed” with your Fuse site discovery is a picture of the back of the shirts. Not the front. Not the logo… Nothing revealed.
Archive.org is a very useful site, I use it all the time.
P.S. I’m sorry you feel unfairly slammed. All I’ve done was point out the flaws in your arguments.
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:06 pm
@Darius
The image you posted above with the logo in hot pink and hot blue designed in 2005 for mondonation is a blantant attempt to mislead the public. You should place the correct original logo for mondonation which is blue and white from April 2006 and is featured on the fuse site.
The fuse site has the FRONT of the tee shirt which features the original design blue and white believe for mondonation from April 2006.
My facts are accurate. Regarding flaws you mentioned about arguments… I made no arguments since facts speak for themselves.
Since you’re also pointing out logo and registered marks, the complete logo or mark including colors/combinations and graphic elements must be included in registering a logo. The example you gave for Target and the Red Cross is a bad one since you assume that all crosses are the same and that registering a mark doesn’t include specifying the shape, dimension or size of the mark. Target doesn’t use the red cross alone with the same dimension (width, height, size) as the registered Red Cross mark. You need to work on your logic as well as your ethics.
You should be ashamed of yourself!
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:41 pm
First, I think you mean hot pink and hot green. I have the original PDF with the green and pink believe logo from 1995. I have emails from the designer of this logo. I have spoken to Ward the founder of mondonation to confirm this was a logo used by mondonation in 1995. I have confirmation from the sources about the validity of the creation date of this logo and that it was applied for a registered trademark in the green and pink colors used above.
mondonation is a fashion line of t-shirts… colors of the logo change for the seasons and for the different colors of the stock shirt they are printed on. mondonation applied for trademarks for all 6 versions of how they use their believe brand. So the blue and white version as well as the green and pink are trademarked.
The link your provided to Fuse was: http://www.fusetech.ca/portfolio.php?client_id=43
The only t-shirt linked from that page is:
This. Is. The. Back. Of. The. Shirt. That is not the logo for the belive t-shirts.
ar·gu·ment – Noun
1. an oral disagreement; verbal opposition; contention; altercation
2. a discussion involving differing points of view; debate
3. a process of reasoning; series of reasons
4. a statement, reason, or fact for or against a point
You made an argument when you stated your “facts.” Although you have no sources to validate your facts or other definitive reason to state them as valid facts. I have corrected you on all of your arguments.
I have no idea what you are trying to say here. Target doesn’t use a red cross as their logo. They use a red bullseye.
Why? I helped a friend with a great company stand up for his rights and defend them against a large corporation. I did this with a thoughtful post and have followed up with responses to all arguments against my opinions. I honored my own charity and the other charities supported by mondonation by doing this.
August 24th, 2007 at 12:28 am
Click on the homepage link http://www.fusetech.ca/portfolio.php?client_id=43 and you’ll see that the original site was in blue and white and not hot pink and hot green as you assert. You’re not fooling anyone.
August 24th, 2007 at 12:47 am
Sorry. Missed that before.
Yes that is the blue and white version of the logo. That blue and white version is trademarked… just as the pink and green is.
August 24th, 2007 at 1:15 am
And again, it’s not JUST the colors. Please get over that and move on.
August 24th, 2007 at 6:15 am
tyranus must be working for elizabeth arden or britney spears, otherwise there is no explanation for his blindness and his inability to understand that his “facts” and “arguments” are null and void in the face of all the evidence provided. His going on and on like a broken radio proves that he’s either being paid to divert the discussion or he’s rather inept when it comes to arguments.
August 24th, 2007 at 8:37 am
@Eugen Suman
Again, nice try (actually not very nice) but now you’re grasping at straws. Your verbage sounds awefully similar to Darius’ earlier post. If you want to know what I do… I’m an engineer with over a decade of semiconductor manufacturing experience. If Britney and EA run nanofabrication plants, then you would be correct.
Justice is blind, not stupid.
From Darius’ response earlier post about registering “believe” in hot pink and hot green, then good for him and I hope that he gets the justice he and mondonation deserves.
I don’t think prejudging is good and that was my initial suggestion for everyone.
I’d like to see how this unfolds.
August 24th, 2007 at 8:55 am
If that is the case, I would like to appologize for my presumptions. I just found your type of speech and line of arguments a little suspicious, that’s all.
August 24th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Just one thing still seems peculiar to me… and that is why can’t I purchase the t-shirt with the green and pink believe logo that is featured on Mondonation’s web site, and is shown with both male and female models?
Isn’t this misleading? I think Mondonation is misrepresenting themselves by featuring this on their home page (By the way, Mondonation looks like a wonderful “experiment”. and besides…I want that shirt! But, I do know I can get it free with the purchase of some fragrance by slapping down 58 bucks at http://www.britneyspearsbelieve.com …hey, you never know…could be a collector’s item!)
August 24th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Hello! I’m from Mexico and this is the first time I’ve heard about “BELIEVE”, wheter is Mondonations’ one or Britney’s. I think that they should go to court and fight for their rights. I can’t believe that BS hired someone who stole a well known mark… shame on you Elizabet Arden!
August 24th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
BOO HOO… no1 cares… more power to britney… plus its not like she came up with this idea… they bring her what they think is best and she picks what she likes…
August 24th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
**** ****
August 25th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
i am responding only to clarify that we do in fact sell the pink and green colour combination. it is currently out of stock in men’s but is available in women’s. i’d hate to lose any sales of this combination because of a misinformed commenter.
our lines are seasonal and we do run out of stock periodically of many different colour combinations. at times we wait several months before reintroducing them as any product line does.
i appreciate all the support coming from this community.
i am very proud of the website and i’d like to ask this question. why do you think there has been little acknowledgment of how amazing the website and shopping experience is?
August 25th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Here’s some leads to the trademarks:
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=498j91.6.6
Don’t have time to look through all the results from the Trademark office.
August 25th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
i cant believe this
mondonation is well known..
why would you rip off a company that DONATES the money to charities and needy children around the world?
just shows you how terrible brittney really is.
and btw people.. it ISNT just the colours
its the logo!
just because darius decided to put the pink and green logo doesnt mean anything. its still plagerized from the origional creators of mondonation.
the word believe with the highlighted i was mondonations logo long before britney deicided to plagerize it.
I BELIEVE that shows that mondonation had it way before she “came up with it”
…and for all of you who say, “who cares”
im sure if you were a child in africa who had aids.. or a child with cancer.. or have a child with cancer.. you’d be signing a totally different tune right now.
and for those of you who just dont care
DONT WRITE ANYTHING.
August 26th, 2007 at 10:35 am
Tyranus, how long have you worked for or been affiliated with EA?
August 26th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
[...] Whoops…. Britney Spears’ New Product Stealing from mondonation and Charities [...]
August 27th, 2007 at 4:56 am
Darius obviously did not do his homework. Clicking on the first link takes one exactly where Jane says it will.
August 27th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
I think that the whole copying of mondonation’s logo is discusting! And to anyone that said ” Mondonation might be working with EA on any sort of collaborative promotion”, I’ll copy you all the email that came from mondonation officials regarding this incident, the email also linked to this site:
“A Message to Our Friends and Supporters
Recently, it was brought to our attention that Elizabeth Arden is launching a new fragrance named “believe” under the Britney Spears brand. We are shocked and dismayed that the logo that Elizabeth Arden has chosen copies mondonation’s “believe” logo which mondonation has been using since May, 2005. We understand that the similarity of the two logos and their colors are causing a great deal of confusion, but wish to assure you that mondonation has no association with Britney Spears and does not wish to have any association with her given that her lifestyle is so contrary to what we and you believe.
We are grateful for the numerous emails that we have received in support of mondonation and hope that you will continue to send us your comments. Please see the article “Britney Spears New Product Stealing from mondonation and Charities” (Articule URL edited because it was too long) and follow the link to Elizabeth Arden to let them know what you believe and how it will affect you to wear your “believe” t-shirt once this new product is launched. Please copy me on any emails you send to Elizabeth Arden.
We hope that we can reach an amicable resolution with Elizabeth Arden to avoid serious harm to mondonation and its charitable purpose.
In the meantime, thank you for your understanding and for “believing”.
Ward Bingham”
August 27th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
And under the credits, recognition should be given to Morgan Dunnet (www.morgandunnet.com) for the YouTube video.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
The same thing happened to Glow cosmetics when Glow by J.Lo (Jennifer Lopez) launched her fragrance. They settled out of court, but not before it was written up all over the place, like Inc. magazine. I think it was 2006.
August 29th, 2007 at 9:54 am
@ typophile
“(By the way, Mondonation looks like a wonderful “experimentâ€?. and besides…I want that shirt! But, I do know I can get it free with the purchase of some fragrance by slapping down 58 bucks at http://www.britneyspearsbelieve.com …hey, you never know…could be a collector’s item!)”
So…you’d rather pay $58 to a huge corporation that uses Britney Spears (a pathetic washup) as their advertisement for perfume and get the shirt that you say you want for free instead of DONATING MONEY TO A CHARITABLE CAUSE (you don’t even have to give $58 to get the shirt) and getting the shirt with, not only the logo that was ripped off by EA, but also a personal touch of what you believe in on the back??? Think about how stupid you sound…
August 29th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
@ Angie
I think you missed the point…
I was clearly calling out (poking a little fun at) Mondonation for not having available, in the color combination of pink and green
logo on a basic white t-shirt. The same shirt featured on Mondonation’s home page and the same logo color combination
featured in the Darius blog that we’re all commenting on!
One more thing Ange… I’m in disbelief and, quite frankly ashamed at all you so called “charitable” people who go out of your way
to trash Britney Spears like it’s a sport. She has achieved a certain amount of success in her lifetime and has also suffered
painful missteps and bad decisions. Hey, here’s an idea… try showing Britney the same kindness and support that you would to
any other human being… try being a better person by focusing on whatever good YOU can do rather than trashing an easy target !
Seriously… get a clue
August 30th, 2007 at 7:57 am
I really cant understand the lack of creativity of big corporations… I wont tell the Mondonatio logo is bad, but its nothing great either… people copying average designs… really bad.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Well spotted. I just send an email to the company. It is despicable and ridiculous for a company with their resources to steal from anyone else, and I hope they endeavor to save at least a little of their integrity by pulling the product as-is and apologizing to mondonation and their customers.
August 31st, 2007 at 10:29 am
Wow, what nerve! They didn’t even bother to hide the similarities a bit better. Actually aside from the “Believe” trademark rip off, it’s disturbing that Elizabeth Arden created this whole concept of Britney believing in herself! I mean the poor girl is clearly lacking in that department.
August 31st, 2007 at 10:34 am
Hmmm…such nerve! They didn’t even try to hide their mimicry. While the trademark rip off is disturbing, I find is so strange why Elizabeth Arden chose Britney for a brand that says “Believe in yourself” (???) I mean the poor girl is clearly lacking in that department.
August 31st, 2007 at 3:00 pm
I think we ought to check out ALL of Ms. Spears’ fragrance logos, just to see which other ones EA ripped off! Oh, this is fun, taking a break from bashing the Bush/Cheney administration and taking some potshots at big business!
Hey, here’s an idea — how about you liberal dopes stop fighting the man and START getting jobs and making productive humans of yourselves?
Anyone who has a decent idea here is just trashed because it doesn’t fit the “liberal” profile?
You all are guilty of making a mountain out of a friggin’ molehole, and for that, here ya go …
/Users/scott/Desktop/douche.png
September 1st, 2007 at 2:48 am
I BELEIVE BRITNEY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS SO PEOPLE NEED TO STOP TRASH TALKING HER OHWELL ITS JUST A PERFUME ITS ALLREADY COMING OUT NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT IAM GONNA GO BUY ABOUT TEN BOTTLES OF IT TO GIVE AS GIFTS IT SMELLS NICE AND UNIQUE!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 3rd, 2007 at 10:27 pm
A Message to Our Friends and Supporters
As many of you have learned through this blog entry, Elizabeth Arden is launching a new fragrance named “believe” under the Britney Spears brand using a logo virtually identical to mondonation’s “believe” logo with a lower case font, similar colors, and including mondonation’s distinctive highlighted “i”. Â
Thanks to the numerous emails you have sent, we have been contacted by Elizabeth Arden and its executives are working with us in good faith to find a reasonable resolution to avoid further confusion between the two logos, or perceived endorsement of the Britney Spears fragrance by mondonation.  Â
We hope that we can reach an amicable resolution with Elizabeth Arden to avoid serious harm to mondonation and its charitable purpose. With regard to Britney Spears, we wish her well and hope that someday she will find something positive in her life in which she can “believe”.
Thank you to everyone who has written to EA and supported mondonation through this unusual event. I will continue to post updates here or you can also check the mondonation blog for the most current developments.
Ward Bingham
September 6th, 2007 at 12:14 am
Here is something more about this issue
http://www.logoblog.org/wordpress/britney-spears-believe-logo-copyrights-violation/
September 6th, 2007 at 1:52 am
I’m reading this site for the first time and I have to say I am in awe of how relentless Tyranus is in promoting his tiresome arguments. Time and time again they have been disproved and yet he still continues to cling onto them like life jackets.
How many times does he need to be told that the i believe “logo” he found is actually the back of the shirt and not the front. If he has even once been to the site and tried to purchase a shirt, that fact would be glaringly obvious.
And from one graphic designer to…a non-designer…color combinations of the britney logo hardly calls for an accusation of plagiarism. britney spears is not the first company to use that combination. It is the color AND typeface arrangement that makes the logo a candidate for plagiarism. Not to mention the fact that they conveniently color the “I” in believe to stand out when it is irrelevant to their marketing scheme.
To a professional designer ALL aspects of a design have a specific PURPOSE to it. It’s the first thing they teach you in school.
maybe their team decided to change the color of the “i” just for the purpose of having 2 colors in their logo to match that of their previous campaigns BUT there are PLENTY of solutions to this design problem that don’t require them to highlight an “i” that has nothing to do with their campaign.
besides, we live in the 21st century. The world wide web is full of information easily accessible at our fingertips. Their design and/or legal team has the means to do some research on the logo of their brand before marketing it to avoid possible lawsuits. I thought that was common knowledge.
September 12th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
[...] about stealing other company’s identity and getting away with it. If not for LogoBlog and YoungGoGetter.com I wouldn’t know about this incident [...]
September 13th, 2007 at 8:37 am
[...] namens Believe auf den Markt, das zur Zeit bei Elizabeth Arden vorbestellt werden kann. Das Weblog Younggogetter hat herausgefunden, dass das zweifarbige Logo von Believe – es zerfällt in die Bestandteile bel-i-eve – bei [...]
September 14th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
I think if her fragrance is called “believe” instead of ” “i believe”, then britney should be able to use it! They’re different brands, and if this fragrance symbolizes who britney is and she’s not copying from another brand, then it’s not a big deal to me! Besides it’s not like it’s the same scent, bottle, or even name! You know what I mean! I do hope it smells good though!
Cassie
September 16th, 2007 at 11:59 am
[...] Free Britney wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptBritney Spears’s new fragrance, Britney Spears Believe will be out on counters in October, but is available for Pre-order online. The brand for this new fragrance is a complete rip of mondonation’s brand… … [...]
September 26th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
Elizabeth Arden can dih it out but can’t take it…..
(Orlando Sentinel, The (FL) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Sep. 23–A popular Winter Springs yoga studio is changing its name to avoid an ugly legal battle with one of the United States’ best-known beauty companies.
Red Door Yoga owner Joni Giconi got a letter recently from an attorney for Elizabeth Arden, telling her to change the studio’s name.
Elizabeth Arden has a line of Red Door spas and fragrances.
“Your subsequent opening of a yoga salon and massage parlor in Florida using the trademark RED DOOR is likely to cause confusion with and dilute the distinctiveness of the valuable RED DOOR trademark,” attorney Joseph Dreitler said in a letter to Giconi.
Maybe they should write back withthe ‘believe” logo
September 28th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Britney markets this name alot better than those other ppl which I never even HEARD of! GO BRITNEY & I *BELIEVE IN BRITNEY*
September 28th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
yes, britney does a great job of marketing herself, i agree.
there are probably very few people in the world who didn’t see her “memorable” performance on the music awards.
by the way, i just feel sorry for britney, she needs help.
i believe britney will make it through this embarrassing time in her life
September 28th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
The people of EA have changed the logo. It is exactly the same but now the i isnt pink anymore it is just green like the rest… still looks like the other logo to me
September 28th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
yes, we found this out early today.
what we really were concerned with was the isolation of the “i” in a separate colour.
i am actually very pleased with the change. it was never really about the typeface although it was a concern when it was paired with the isolated “i”
i am happy to say that elizabeth arden has really done a great job at resolving this issue.
there are many “believe” logos out there but at least mondonation was able to hold onto the one thing that made our logo unique.
it is a good day at camp mondonation.
October 6th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
To anyone who argued that the logo is just “similar” based on color, font, etc.:
Logo’s are visual representations of ideas and the idea is IDENTICAL hence the logos are identical for all intents and purposes. End of story
It’s no coincidence and the logos could not have coexisted, here’s why:
THE LOGO WASN’T THE ISSUE!
Allowing EA/BS to use the logo effectively KILLS mondonation, the project and the founder’s dream. How? It reduces (even enslaves) the company and all of it customer/supporters into living billboards for EA/BS against their will. Everyone who bought/donated will have wasted their money… it’s like EA/BS stole every t-shirt and hijacked the whole company/brand/message.
In fact, diametrically opposed to “coincidence”, I’m convinced it was INTENTIONAL:
The greatest trick in the “branding playbook” is not to create anything new but rather APPROPRIATE something that is already part of popular culture, is familiar to people, or has some momentum behind it. Think of how Budweiser had everybody saying “Waaazzap!” a few years ago, they just borrowed something people already said naturally and made it their own… no “theft” going on there but just to illustrate the branding mechanism.
Mondonation and its project has a lot of good will behind it, a lot of karmic equity so to speak and a lot of people already wearing the t-shirt. What better way for EA/BS to “buy” a few supporters and hit the ground running with tons of “brand recognition” without spending a dime?
I don’t know what I would do if I had bought the t-shirt and then EA/BS came along… I would probably stop wearing the t-shirt as much as I knew it hurts the cause. I certainly wouldn’t “buy a EA/BS t-shirt from mondonation” because that’s what it comes down to, really, once the EA/BS brand spreads.
I was really getting depressed till I visited Britney’s site and saw that the “i” was changed to the same color as the rest or “believe”. I think that preserves the uniqueness of mondonation’s mark.
Just wanted to add my $0.02 or should I donate it do mondonation now that the issue is resolved?
October 9th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
I don’t know who told you EA changed the logo but it simply isn’t true. I have a box of believe perfume right in front of me. The logo is green with a pink “i”.
October 9th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Here are pics from ebay. The logo is clearly not changed.
http://cgi.ebay.com/BELIEVE-BRITNEY-SPEARS-3-4-FL-OZ-EDP-SPRAY-NEW-IN-BOX_W0QQitemZ140165559212QQihZ004QQcategoryZ101942QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-BELIEVE-BRITNEY-SPEARS-SOUFFLE-6-8_W0QQitemZ110179315224QQihZ001QQcategoryZ118690QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
October 12th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Hey, I would just like to say that I was flipping through my magazine this morning, and I saw an ad for Britney Spears’s new perfume, Beleive. I want to state that she had a tremendous wig on! Looks better than her real hair.. Anyways, so whats going on with the stealing thing? She doesnt need to steal; shes rich.. kind-of? I guess what I am saying is that I dont beleive this blog. :] IDK.
October 12th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
OOOH. oops, holy shit; man. thats harerrrrshhhhhhhhhh. :[ im sorry that that happened. thats really strange. what a man-whore with a fake ass wig. hahahhaha.
October 14th, 2007 at 8:18 am
[...] read more | digg story [...]
October 30th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
[...] brand… Somewhere there is a design team who should be fired. Help shut her up.[…] Thanks to msaleem for providing this nice story on Digg (more than 852 [...]
October 30th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Can you please help me try to figure out how to use this video?
I cannot seem to get it to work. http://www.britneyvideosite.com
November 5th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Britney is a good singer! Especially i like her third album!
December 10th, 2007 at 3:13 am
[...] Good job, Britney. mondonation created a powerful message and opportunity with their i believe t-shirts and thousands of people have purchased their shirts and supported the many charities working with them. I am one of those people. I personally own a few shirts and have referred my friends and family to buy them too… but I don’t think I want to become a walking billboard for Britney Spears new product… and if something isn’t done about her fragrance logo… that is exactly what my shirts will become. [...]
December 14th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
Although I am definitely not a Brittany Spears fan I believe you should do some research before you start spouting off and getting others riled up. Mondonation has gotten together using Brittany Spears as their spokes person to promote this special edition t shirt while promoting her perfume. Elizabeth Arden is the maker of this perfume, and don’t you think they would have had their research crew for copy rights do their research before producing a product they could be sued for infringements for using the same logo? People it’s intentional….. get a clue……. even though the majority do not care for her, maybe she’s using her “clout” to generate monies to be donated to charities.
Although her decisions of late are not so to say to smart and a great person to represent Mondonation. The fact is it happened whether we liked it or not. So instead of being another hear sayer and running rampant at the mouth without knowing what you’re talking about. Find your facts first. Lord please don’t be voters unless you’re smart enough to educate yourself and not just believe what you hear!
December 25th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Well said “E”! They are WORKING TOGETHER!
March 28th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Thats really interesting stuff, and I was unaware of this controversy before reading this post. It seems unusual, in that that wasn’t a team of lawyers to look into this prior to releasing of Britney’s perfume.
March 31st, 2008 at 7:36 am
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April 10th, 2008 at 8:27 am
What is the big deal – get a life its a LOGO who cares!!!!!!
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:17 am
the nerve of some people… what do they think they won’t get caught stealing others designs..? people just need to become a little more creative with design… and not creative with stealing..!
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December 24th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
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January 1st, 2009 at 9:08 pm
get over it it guys i never heard of it until now this is dumb and pathetic i think u guys r still in the stereo type of anti britney shes not all this its her people and shes not the bad guy u guys r blowin this way out of proportion!!!fucken stupid asses!!get a life instead of talkin bad about britney!!unless thats all u guys know
July 9th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
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November 30th, 2009 at 5:24 am
My personal opinion, i think it’s just another trick from Britney to get popularity.