Fun with press releases (Choose Your Own Adventure edition)
Word is that the much-loved – er, well, much-remembered – Choose Your Own Adventure books are about to relaunch with a new series (with Canadian Manda distributing in Canada). So it only makes sense that the books’ makers have taken steps to protect the brand. According to a press release that arrived at the Q&Q home office recently, the Vermont-based Chooseco LLC has filed an injunction against DaimlerChrysler and several other companies, including Marvel Entertainment.
It seems that a Jeep Patriot ad campaign that kicked off last month plays on the CYOA conceit and also “features an interactive website and movie which is recognizably similar to the model used for the Choose Your Own Adventure book series.” (We’re not sure where Marvel fits in – perhaps there’s some cross-promotion in which Spider-Man chooses to chase the Sandman in a Patriot rather than a Range Rover.)
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The release quotes Chooseco publisher Shannon Gilligan as saying, “The misappropriation of the Choose Your Own Adventure mark by Jeep is particularly harmful as Choose Your Own Adventure books have also promoted interactive adventure and active lifestyles for boys and girls for over 20 years.” As for exactly what that last bit means, your guess is as good as ours.
