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Mitt Romney Told to Stop Using Slogan From NBC Show

Oct 12, 2012  •  Post A Comment

One of the trends in this year’s presidential election seems to be candidates using television material until the rights holders ask them to stop. President Obama was asked recently by NBC to stop using unauthorized footage from NBC news, as we reported earlier this week, and now Mitt Romney has been told to stop using a slogan from the NBC show “Friday Night Lights,” Deadline.com reports.

Peter Berg, creator of “Lights,” sent a letter to Romney telling him to stop using the expression “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose,” from the show, which aired from 2006-2011.

Here’s the letter, which Berg sent today:

Governor Romney:

I created the TV show “Friday Night Lights” and came up with the phrase “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose.”

I was not thrilled when I saw that you have plagiarized this expression to support your campaign by using it on posters, your Facebook page and as part of your stump speeches. Your politics and campaign are clearly not aligned with the themes we portrayed in our series.

The only relevant comparison that I see between your campaign and “Friday Night Lights” is in the character of Buddy Garrity — who turned his back on American car manufacturers selling imported cars from Japan. Your use of the expression falsely and inappropriately associates “Friday Night Lights” with the Romney/Ryan campaign. Mitt, we all wish you and your family all the best. We are grateful for your support of our beloved show, but we are not in any way affiliated with you or your campaign. Please come up with your own campaign slogan.

Sincerely

Peter Berg

In another similar incident, the company behind “Sesame Street” recently asked the Obama campaign to stop using its Big Bird-themed ads, the story notes.

3 Comments

  1. My, My, Mr. Berg…how petty. Your show was in NBC Prime Time. Nobody watched it. Now that someone who people actually pay attention to is using “Your Slogan” you throw a hissy fit??? What would Big Bird say???

  2. Last Night I saw the NBC ad again. Looks like the Obama campaign has refused to pull it.

  3. Really? I never watched Friday Night Lights (although I heard a lot of good things about it. Texas and football just aren’t enticing to me. But that is hardly a generic phrase. I would be pissed at any campaign that stole a phrase of mine that blatantly.

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