RJ Reynolds (RJR) and Ohio State University (OSU) are going at it.
That block O that OSU uses, they say, belongs to them.
RJR said they will no longer use the 'O' in ads and will investigate how it got there in the first place.
OSU's director of trademark and licensing services says, "It was probably one of the more subtle uses that we've seen but it was still an attempt to tie the audience of the university into the product."
The director of advocacy for the American Lung Association of Ohio says, "Selling tobacco by using the logo of a respected university with a sports team that has many youthful fans is manipulative and reprehensible."
My bet is that some advertising knucklehead just didn't notice the 'O' was there. My bet also is that RJR is going to pay for their mistake.
But, when do letters belong to colleges anyway?
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