In this commercial for Royal Caribbean International cruise lines, we are treated to a collection of wonderful photos of what customers can expect on a Royal Caribbean cruise, and if it’s honest, then wow, indeed. It looks great!
But sadly I must report that they lost me at the end there with their fine print, which says: “WOW Is a Trademark of Royal Caribbean International.” You know what that means, right?
Yes, that means they think they own the word “wow” from now on, and nobody else is allowed to use it in advertising for any other product. Or at least, that’s what they mean if I know my corporate lawyer hubris. (And I believe I do.)
Royal Caribbean: You had us with the great ad, and we agree: “Wow!” But when you try to own the word “wow”, you just seem arrogant. And I know it’s in the fine print, but it’s the fine print that always ends up screwing people over, now isn’t it? And it might just sour people to you too, because if you are trying to claim ownership of a word in the fine print we see, then what are you putting in your other fine print that we don’t see, and what will it do to your patrons? So cut it out, please, for your own good.
So Royal Caribbean, you don’t own the word “wow”, not even for advertising purposes alone: nobody does. It existed long before your company did, and it will continue to be used long after you’re bankrupt and forgotten. So please don’t try to claim ownership of something that belongs to everyone: a word, expressing a feeling of awe; because expressions of awe belong to us all, and should be fair game for use in all ads (unless the ads are lying about the wow-factor).
Of course, if you had said “Destination Wow” was your trademark, that would be different, as that’s your ad slogan, and not just one word; but that’s not what the fine print in your ad says, now is it?
Here’s the “wow” spot with the even bigger “wow” fine print:
(BTW: I’m not trying to bash your ad, I’m only trying to help. If I noticed this, others will too. Claim “Destination Wow”, and not “Wow” as your trademark: it could make a big difference to how your company is perceived, for those who notice.)
