Toronto has to throw out its anti-littering campaign, after misusing major brand names

The city of Toronto has been forced to scrap an official series of anti-littering posters, unveiled just recently, due to a fundamental blunder in their basic concept.

The ads showed pieces of litter from major brand-name products, with one piece partially covering another so that their names formed new derogatory words about the people supposedly littering them. This likely ran afoul of intellectual property law by appropriating these brands for use without permission, and manipulating them in a way that would negatively affect their reputations. The Toronto Star gives some examples:

The city's spokeswoman also confirmed to The Star that the city did not consult with any of these companies, and that some of them subsequently complained; she declined to say exactly which companies were the ones to complain. --Eric Kleefeld

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up