Can You Use a Trademarked Logo Without Permission? State Fair Asks for Logo to be Removed from Bachmann TV Ad

During Minnesota State Fair time, if you were watching TV, you may have seen the Michelle Bachmann ad criticizing Tarryl Clark for 'raising taxes on a variety of State Fair goodies.' The ad was criticized for not only slander, but for showing the Minnesota State Fair logo twice during the chimerical.

"I know, I know, it's State Fair time and you don't want to hear about politics," says Jim "The Election Guy," a character in Bachmann's TV ads. "But while you're at the fair, you should know Tarryl Clark here voted to raise taxes on your corn dog. And your deep fried bacon. And your beer."

While Clark did vote 'yes' on a bill that would increase taxes on liquor sales, Bachmann's claims about corn dog and bacon taxes are a bit misleading. Her campaign says Clark favored a transportation bill that included a metro sales tax hike, which affects corn dogs and bacon but does not specifically target those things.

The State Fair was upset because their logo appeared twice in the TV ad and Fair officials asked the image to be removed. "The State Fair does not endorse any candidate running for political office," said a State Fair official.

Bachmann's campaign said that although they believed they have legal right to keep the image in the ad, they would switch it out for a generic one "out of good faith."

This got me to thinking, what is the proper usage for logos? I think of this issue as almost like a product placement the State Fair did not ask for. The American Advertising Federation (AAF) believes product placement is a good way to advertise, but says it is when everyone benefits from it: the placement source, the company being promoted and the consumer. Also, it is alright if the placement is disclosed in some way. Also, product placement is always agreed upon by both parties involved. That is the issue here. It may not be illegal, but if you're not going to ask for usage permission, don't complain when the party in question doesn't like it and asks to be removed from the situation. I think the Bachmann campaign should be lucky they didn't get into more trouble.

For more questions and answers regarding ad usage, look to the AAF's website here.