Skip to main content

Wipe that smile off your face


They own everything else. Why not the patent on a smiley face, too.

It wasn't enough for Wal-Mart to destroy Main Street American business, to commit racist and sexist injustices, to turn itself into the world's largest retailer by selling cheap shit (probably made by 7-year-old child laborers in rural Pakistan) at even cheaper prices. (Go to http://walmartwatch.com for more examples.)

Now Wal-Mart thinks it owns the exclusive rights to the round, yellow smiling face it uses in its ads.

You know, the smiley face blatantly stolen from the icon of the '70s, which became plastered on everything from bumper stickers to beer mugs with the slogan, Have a nice day!

I'm guessing the Wal-Mart ad campaign began sometime after that. The company commenced plastering it all over stores and associates in 1996, in fact. Yet Wal-Mart feels compelled to snatch from the world the very symbol of happiness...deface it, if you will. Just because it can. Doesn't make me very happy at all.

It's up to the U.S. Patent Office now to decide whether Wal-Mart, or a Frenchman who claims he invented it in 1968, gets the rights to use it. A couple other people also are claiming THEY should own the rights. So this may not end soon.

Stealing smiles from the American public. Really. It can't get more wicked than that.

Comments

FletcherDodge said…
I thought Forrest Gump invented it...
Brianne said…
Wal-Mart is totally evil and trying to dominate the world. Worse than Starbucks even. Did you know that they're trying to sell cars and start Wal-Mart BANKS??

Save America. Shop Target.

Popular posts from this blog

Is it OK to own a Canadian?

In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, written by a U.S. resident, and posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative: Dear Dr. Laura: Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them. 1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexic...

In memoriam...

I remember the first time I heard the name "Les Anderson." A bunch of Wichita State University communication majors were sitting around on campus, talking about classes they planned to take. Several people warned me: watch out for Les Anderson. He was tough. He had a murderous grading scale. It was nearly impossible to get an A. They weren't kidding. But he wasn't tough just to be a tyrant. From his teaching sprang a fleet of incredible, successful journalists, writers, editors, broadcasters, public relations experts, advertisers, non-profit professionals...I could go on and on. Most importantly, he created a legion of people who wanted to make a difference in the world. The greatest gift Les gave to them all? He believed in them, cared about them for their own personal stories as well as the stories they told for class assignments or in the pages of his hometown newspaper. Les was my teacher. My boss. My mentor. My conscience. My champion. My friend. When I started c...

Holy Separated-At-Birth, Batman!

Gary Oldman...meet Uncle Knit-Knots from Imagination Movers.