Is it really wise to antagonize the Good Lord? He has, according to the Scriptures, shown an occasional penchant for large-scale destruction.
So why would anyone, let alone a vast electronics retailer, wish to demand that one of his shepherds change his ways? In the case of Best Buy, it seems that the company decided that this one particular shepherd has a mission that steps onto its own hallowed ground.
Father Luke Strand, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, is a man who believes that humor and advertising are vital components in ministering to his flock.
So he decked out his VW Beetle with a logo in black, white, and orange. The logo reads “God Squad.”
One can imagine that, in the often-dark and dreary lands of Wisconsin, this car raises both an eyebrow and a laugh. Unfortunately, it affected the eyebrows of the larger wigs at Best Buy.
Father Strand, who is currently ministering at the Holy Family Catholic Community in Fond Du Lac, Wis., was perhaps slightly surprised when Best Buy sent him a cease-and-desist letter, which told him that the company believes he is infringing on its trademark.True, the God Squad logo does mimic its Geek Squad counterpart rather closely. But there might have been those who would be flattered that God’s earthly representative would make reference to a mere retailer of electronic gadgets and the occasional racy DVD. However, Paula Baldwin, who ministers at Best Buy’s public relations department, insisted that the company must pursue all trademark infringements, lest it allow its logo to fall into trademark purgatory.
I believe that Christians have been called God Squad since before Best Buy had a Geek Squad.
Great trademark for an exorcism business but the logo would need a little work.
It’s obviously a parody of the geek squad but no one in their right mind would confuse the two. The co-opting by Christians of corporate logos has been going on as long as I remember. By making a big deal about it Best Buy only gives the group free advertising. If they let it go now they’ll look less like jerks in the future.
I could use their help. My bible has some nasty spyware on it. Something called ‘natas666’.
I’m actually hoping Best Buy sues the hypocrite moron’s ass off and LOSES.
Why do these nut jobs have to steal someone else’s logo / etc… They already have one of the most recognizable logos on the planet.
“I believe that Christians have been called God Squad since before Best Buy had a Geek Squad.”
Yes, but did they trademark it? 🙂
And besides, Best Buy has more lawyers than god. What’s god gonna do, send down his son Thor to crush them? What? Oh you meant some OTHER god…sorry. My god can beat up your god!
#7–halfglass==old joke about God and the Devil having a dispute about where the fence between heaven and hell should be. The Devil was quite cocky, seems he had all the legal talent on his side.
“I believe that Christians have been called God Squad since before Best Buy had a Geek Squad.” [citation needed]
If anyone has a legitimate claim here it’s the Mod Squad.
Oh, how cute…. A religious organization is stealing… absolutely adorable.
Face it – theft is theft. If an IP owner wishes to NOT have their property stolen, that is their right. Just because somebody steals that IP in the name of their particular flavor of a god does not make that theft right, or cute, or a compliment, or anything other than THEFT.
Religion needs to learn to stop stealing from other people as if they served a higher calling.
Render unto Cesar what is Cesars===and don’t misappropriate either.
> but no one in their right mind would confuse the two.
Sure – one is a bunch of idiots that have no real answers but act like they have the secret to everything and will save you if you pay them enough money.
The others a bunch of religious nuts.
They’ve definitly had god squad since long before the geek squad. But they did steal the geek squads logo.
Do the ministers wear blue vestments?
Almost as good as the cease and desist order from the National Pork Board to ThinkGeek.com over the use of the phrase “the new white meat” in their April Fools Day product Canned Unicorn Meat.
http://tinyurl.com/32h6aht
As a Christian, I apologize for my idiot brothers and sisters who lack creativity and feel like they have to spoof things to be ‘relevant’. It’s embarrassing, sad, and not productive in the slightest.
#16 I agree! It’s a lame spoof at best.
God forbid I, as a Christian, would have to go through with the spoof and wear awful polyester pants and a short sleeve dress shirt with pocket protector. No thanks…
God’s penchant for wiping out people in the Old Testament pales in comparison to the atheist states of the past 100 years. 1000 to 1 by most estimates.
Cesar? I assume you are trying to make a connection with Gaius Julius Caesar which still isn’t the way the most famous Roman would have written it. Most moderns neither know nor care so I guess you get a pass.
Parody is not plagiarism. That case has already been ruled on by the courts.
Here we go again. Applying copyright laws on a selective basis. If the guy had not been advertising religion we would have been all over him for emulating a well known logo. Although I am not particularly in favour of this highly protective behaviour towards so called copyright I am amazed that simply because he is doing it on behalf of a religious belief he is not subject to the same persecution that any other business would be if they did the same thing.
There is absolutely no doubt that this guy did this because Best Buy have a logo that is very very similar. It gets attention. Yes, once they read it, they will notice that it says god and not geek, but that is not what he wanted to happen. It attracted attention. I know copyright law and the Best Buy response is right in this litigious world. If some one can show that your logo is in common usage and you do not pursue it, you can loose it. Hence their response. They are not anti religious they are trying to prevent someone using their logo to attract attention to their own cause which is exactly what he is doing. I do not have to agree with them, but if the guy was a business this item would never have appeared.
People have lost the art of inventiveness and see that the only way to get attention is to use someone else idea and make you read their message. Get your own ideas and stop using other people’s ideas. Religious or not religious I do not care, but stop protecting them because it is religious. Either give up copy right for all or apply it uniformly. Stop giving religious people preferential treatment.
Capitalism trumps the lesser religions. “Cease and desist” can be carved into a stone tablet if that’s what it takes to make the point.
Am I the only one who wouldn’t care if Father Strand didn’t start off with what sounds like a VERY thinly veiled threat?
I guess copyright trumps God? I stop buying at Best Buy a long time ago.
The place is such a rip off. When I bought a Dell and was never told Dell would not be covering the warranty but Best Buy would. That is when I lost my trust for Best Buy.
I cringe whenever I go into a christian bookstore and find another example of ‘Jesus Junk’ where some Christians copy/expropriate/rip off some companies logo/branding. Shows an utter lack of creativity/originality. Too busy following banal worldly trends than a truly awesome God.
#16 was dead on. Here’s an article discussing the root issue:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111704575355311122648100.html?KEYWORDS=perils+of+Christianity
No doubt of it. It’s a rip from a commercial logo.
Thou shalt not rip.
@#27 – You are assuming a lot from my single post, as I never said I applauded anyone. I side with Christ alone.
Correction, I meant to address my last comment (#30) to Alfred1.
Only after looking hard at the pictures in the original Milwaukee Sentinel article is it clear that this logo design is a direct lift from the BestBuy item. Unfortunately for BestBuy’s advertising best I recognize the “Geek Squad” words but over the years (started in 1994) I completely forgot to notice the oval and the typefaces.
And the words “Geek Squad” was used in the 1989 movie “Heathers.”
As for parody the very clever “Chuck” television series parodies the entire store as well as their Geek Squad, Chuck being a major geek. They didn’t complain about that. Probably brought publicity.
And of course there was the “Mod Squad” in the 70s on television. Cheesy but a fave.
The phrase “God Squad” was used many years ago on regular visits to various national television shows by a trio of clerics, a priest, a rabbi and a minister. (I know, it really sounds like a joke setup) I can’t remember their names now but they seemed to show up fairly regularly on various TV shows.
Despite the design similarity I can’t seriously imagine anyone mistaking one for the other. BestBuy must have worried about others who might take the logo for their own and not being able to prevent it, having left the priests alone.
Where is Iman Obam’s support for the first Amendment? Why are you, a Christian like myself, accepting the premise of the haters?
They have the most offensive signs imitating Christian themes possible, in their violent protests…
Yet you applaud them taking our first Amendment rights?
Screw them.
I sympathize with Best Buy, in Progressive America everything must be litigated, or else.
But the first anti American President and his crew of enablers, prove once again they hate this country, and the people who founded it.
Still spewing the garbage?
Did you realize the bible endorses abortion and infanticide? It behooves me that the right wing nuts like to tell us otherwise, but it’s true. The bible condones ripping the fetus from womens bodies. Then the bible also likes to slaughter all the babies under a certain age for whatever reason.
The bible also endorses stoning women to death, the same practice those same wing nuts deride Muslims for.
Ban all religions, my Butt Buddy.