Recently, a new t-shirt design for the most iconic professional wrestler of this generation, John Cena debuted on the WWE website. This t-shirt featured Cena’s trademark slogan; “hustle, loyalty, and respect” and had an appearance very reminiscent of the classic logo of Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer.
The aping of PBR’s logo is not something out of the ordinary for past Cena merchandise. Previous design’s mimicked such hipster, pop-culture pillars such as the John Deer logo and an 8-bit-era NES box.
What was not typical was the response from Pabst Blue Ribbon.
They tagged Cena in an arrogantly snarky post on Twitter, threatening to send a cease and desist letter to Cena and the WWE. The tweet ended in a decidedly not friendly manner; telling Cena that “they can see him”; a direct mirroring of the “you can’t see me” catch-phrase Cena has used for years, then added further insult by inserting a middle finger emoji. This led to the WWE cancelling production of the shirt and removing it from their site.
A message to @JohnCena & the @WWE: We have a chokehold called the Cease & Desist. Pretty sure we see you🖕 pic.twitter.com/AKWjUEXiUj
— Pabst Blue Ribbon (@PabstBlueRibbon) May 27, 2016
I know that this doesn’t really fall into the purview of video games, however, I still felt compelled to comment on the issue.
You see, I’m a guy who’s at a crossroads in my life.
I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to do some very neat things with the last 35 years of my life, yet somehow, I feel that I’m at a point where I need to make a move to do something bigger.
I’ve gotten the chance to be a rather good improvisor – I studied in Chicago and was selected to be on a “house troupe” for one of the major centers of improvisational study: IO Chicago.
I’ve parlayed that experience into stage acting. Even winning the best actor award for a role in a theater competition in 2012.
I’ve even run a political news aggregation website, which led to a stint as a co-host for a local political radio talk show.
My experiences in both acting and retail led me to write, which in turn, led me to NerdBacon, which has stoked a passion for journalism.
The point is, I’ve gotten to do and experience a fair number of different things, and I believe I’ve become pretty adept at the activities to which I have devoted my time; however these have all been extra-curricular activities outside of the 9-5 office hell, from which I am trying to liberate myself.
I’ve been unhappy in my current position for some time, and have been searching around for different openings that would make better use of the multitude of talents that I’ve developed; however I seem to be running into a number of shut doors.
Notorious Nintendo had no problem with this John Cena t-shirt design.
There is an old saying that tells us that whenever one door shuts, another one opens.
Far be it for me to question old sayings, but I feel like I’m having a hell of a time finding that damn open door.
These closed doors have led me to ask the question of whether these closed doors could be the lack of a college degree. And this leaves me feeling incensed.
When I was 18 I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I did a little bit of general college education at a community college, however, I still wasn’t sure where my area of interest should lie. What I did know was that I did not, under any circumstance, want to go into debt in an attempt to get a degree that I would end up not using. I saw the consequence of debt within my family, and I wanted nothing to do with that path.
At 18, I certainly had no idea that my path would lead me to such a diverse variety of interests and pursuits, so how could I have prepared myself at that time to follow them?
Now, even with that plethora of skills that I have developed, I feel like no one wants to take me seriously; all because I don’t have some dopey piece of paper that affirms my compliance in jumping through the established hoops of society.
Aren’t 240 published articles enough to tell you I’m a damn good writer and journalist? At least it’s enough skill to write communications for your organization.
I’m a person that hates being forced to conform to certain standards to which I don’t agree. I’m not the type of guy that fits neatly in a box, so I’ve questioned whether I should even be seeking another corporate gig, or if I should risk everything and go into business for myself.
I’ve also asked myself whether this stand against the now societal norm (which I still find mostly meaningless considering the seeming inability of recent college graduates to do more than tie their shoelaces) is even worth it, and if I should just suck it up and get that degree.
So this is the crossroad at which I have found myself; practically torn myself apart mentally and emotionally trying to solve: and then along comes this cease and desist thing from PBR, and it just irks me so much.
It irks me because it just seems so simple: it’s FREE ADVERTISING!
I fully understand and appreciate that PBR has the full right to maintain and protect their intellectual property, and if they truly feel that this is damaging, then I guess more power to them. However, one would think that the mimicking of your company’s logo by the number one merchandise mover in a global company; a figure who has crossover appeal beyond professional wrestling, creates a positive association to the logo of your company. And that positive association between the fan of Cena and your crappy beer will most likely lead that fan to purchase your product.
It’s an amazing, fortuitous psychological link that is being created for you, for absolutely nothing; and your company has the audacity to tell them to stop.
It blows my mind – not as a fan of Cena (I respect him greatly, but I wouldn’t count myself as a Cena guy) but as someone who gets upset at general stupidity.
The proper usage of a cease and desist order would be if there was a negative association being created between Cena and PBR.
A great example of the proper use of a cease and desist was recently exhibited by Blizzard.
Their new game Overwatch has quickly become a sensation. Its colorful, and in some cases, very attractive characters, have spawned a number of not safe for work artistic renditions – i.e. Overwatch porn.
Blizzard has responded by sending a number of cease and desist letters and DMCA take down notices to sites hosting such works, demanding that they are removed.
Now one can certainly make the argument for artistic license etc; however, in this case, Blizzard is justified in believing that these renditions are creating a negative association with their game. So, therefore, they have the right to demand that those depictions are removed.
This isn’t the case with PBR. Their demands seem to be more of a knee-jerk reaction out of sheer ignorance rather than a well-thought, philosophical one.
If John Cena lived a sorted lifestyle, was in the news for the wrong reasons, or generally a jerk, then one could see PBR’s disdain for the implied relationship between the brand and the man. However, Cena is none of those things. This is a guy who has been a straight-laced, corporate cultivated reflection of the good, hard-working parts of America. You know, the ones that would actually drink PBR. This is a guy who has made headlines for granting more “wishes” as part of the Make-A-Wish foundation than any other celebrity ever.
Why wouldn’t you want your product to have a loose association with that?
John Cena brightens the day of a terminally ill child. PBR doesn’t want to be associated with that.
My point here is this:
Why should a guy like me, who has just broken down why Cena’s shirt is beneficial to PBR in an intelligent explanation, should earn less money and have less value in the eyes of society than the complete moron who posted PBR’s response on Twitter?
Shouldn’t this person have recognized the benefits of free advertising and moved to capitalize on that, rather than burn any potential bridges before they could be built?
That person obviously didn’t understand this basic marketing concept, however if I waltz into PBR to try and get an interview, I’ll be met with a wall of ridicule due to my audacity of seeking an audience for a position without the magic piece of paper. And it’s that barrier that is infuriating to me because the lack of logic exhibited in this instance, should have been recognized and prevented well before such an insipid response was put out for public consumption.
I mean, come on – didn’t they teach you this stuff in school?
Unfortunately, this is not the first time I have witnessed such an impressive display of an inability to engage in a rational thought process.
I’m reminded of a time when I was a concierge for a very upscale retirement community in the Chicago area. Some folks from a marketing firm were going to have a meeting in the building one day. As they arrived, I made the innocent inquiry of what the name of this marketing firm was.
Plan B.
I admit that I could have been more tactful in the response that I gave. Although I don’t remember exactly what I said, I do remember making a comment along the lines of what a ridiculous name Plan B was for a marketing firm.
What immediately comes to mind when you think of that name?
Back-up plan. The plan you go to when your first choice doesn’t pan out. Second-string. Not the best.
Why would you want any of that associated with a firm that is supposed to present your product or service in the best light? Wouldn’t you want Plan A right away?
When I expressed these sentiments to the marketing representative, I was not met with any sort of engaging conversation as to the merits of my thought. I was met a look of disdain from the lady, who replied with the response of:
“Where’s your marketing degree?”
And she was right. I don’t have a marketing degree. What I do have is enough common sense to not give a marketing firm a stupid name and that if John Cena and the WWE want to make a logo that is similar to a logo that I am using, then that is excellent for my business.
So when I saw that response from PBR today, the thoughts regarding which path on which I should embark began to rotate in my head with all the ferocity of a tornado.
Should I just go and get an MBA? Should I get a degree in journalism? Either one could open doors, and learning some extra fundamentals could be extremely beneficial.
But would this new objective force me to try and contort my world view into someone else’s pre-conceived mold?
Is it the fact that these people DID get their MBA, the cause of their hive-mind mentality?
One answer that is perfectly clear is that as I try to wrestle with my frustrations and fears in the hope of reaching my full potential, I am definitely going to need a beer.
It won’t be PBR.
#neverPBR
Written by The Watchman
He’s also an actor, a reporter, a pro wrestling connoisseur, and some say he’s a cat whisperer.
If you have any questions or just want to drop me a line, hit me up at thewatchman@butthole.nerdbacon.com
Or follow me on Twitter @DavetheWatchman
You can also game with me!
Look me up on Xbox Live @ DJKhadoken
Or on PlayStation Network @ Eaglevision_dl
