COVID-19 RESOURCES
LIT CAMS (200 Free Tokens)ADULT TOYSVOD MOVIES

Question about mentioning a brand

C

CoffeeWithMonkeys

Guest
So I'm working on a chapter and they are preparing Thanksgiving and one of them mentions Jell-O. Jell-O is one of those things like Q-Tips and Kleenex where the brand name has taken over the item.
No one, well probably mostly no one, ever calls it gelatin, so would you write it like the brand name Jell-O or just write Jello?
Does it matter? Would you also type the ™ ?

Thanks!
 
CoffeeWithMonkeys said:
So I'm working on a chapter and they are preparing Thanksgiving and one of them mentions Jell-O. Jell-O is one of those things like Q-Tips and Kleenex where the brand name has taken over the item.
No one, well probably mostly no one, ever calls it gelatin, so would you write it like the brand name Jell-O or just write Jello?
Does it matter? Would you also type the ™ ?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I think I'd be tempted to just write Jell-O, but put a note at the end of the piece that it is a registered trademark of Jello Corpn. In the UK, we call that stuff 'Jelly'.
 
CoffeeWithMonkeys said:
So I'm working on a chapter and they are preparing Thanksgiving and one of them mentions Jell-O. Jell-O is one of those things like Q-Tips and Kleenex where the brand name has taken over the item.
No one, well probably mostly no one, ever calls it gelatin, so would you write it like the brand name Jell-O or just write Jello?
Does it matter? Would you also type the ™ ?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I do that all the time and I don’t bother with the tm thing. It’s like drinking a coke. Pulling on your Nike’s. Grabbing the Kleenex. Drinking a Bud. They’re not going to bother because that usage is pervasive. Now if it wasa published book, maybe. But here. I wouldn’t bother. They’d have to come after thousands of us and for what?
 
RubenR said:
I wouldn't even bother mentioning its trademark. How often do you read about people wearing things like 'Levi's', 'Nikies', driving 'Ferrari's', 'Mustangs', going to the 'Mac', drinking 'Pepsi' and 'Johnnie Walker' etc., without bothering. Why would it be any different in this case?

I don't know Jell-O, I guess I've read about it in a few stories, but somehow the name speaks for itself. To me, Jell-O and Jello would be the same.
Click to expand...

It is like that! I guess for the most part I don't think in brands except when the brand name has taken over.

And I do think I'll just use Jello and not the actual brand Jell-O. I think if I say gelatin no one would understand what it was :D

THANKS!

ChloeTzang said:
I do that all the time and I don’t bother with the tm thing. It’s like drinking a coke. Pulling on your Nike’s. Grabbing the Kleenex. Drinking a Bud. They’re not going to bother because that usage is pervasive. Now if it wasa published book, maybe. But here. I wouldn’t bother. They’d have to come after thousands of us and for what?
Click to expand...

I do mention Diet Pepsi all the time and never thought to TM it, I guess because the brand name of Jell-O seems to have taken over the actual item so it seemed different to me. But it really isn't :D

Going to go with Jello and leave it at that.
THANKS!
 
Laurel rejected one of my stories because the product was the main theme of the story and I used the trade name throughout, including in the title.

When I changed the trade name to a description of the item's use she accepted it.

I think she saw the first version as going beyond a product placement to continuous advertising or fan fiction.
 
So what? Who cares what the dessert is? Unless they're wrestling in it. Then it could be pudding.
 
jaF0 said:
So what? Who cares what the dessert is? Unless they're wrestling in it. Then it could be pudding.
Click to expand...

Noooo, I'd go with specific. Just "dessert" is lazy and it loses authenticity. It's those little throwaway details that, imho, help build up a story in the reader's mind. Mind you, I love those details. I spend a couple of hours once going through restaurant menus just to decide what my characters would be eating when they went to a restaurant. And then made sure I matched the wine...:D
 
You are under no obligation to avoid using the brand name. You shouldn't use the trademark symbol, either. No one is going to think you are affiliated with the brand. Just use it and don't worry.
 
Seriously, just go with the Lampoon version of brands, or whoever it was (MAD?) that did the screwed up morphed versions so many years back.

It's mostly fiction, so use fictional brands.
 
CoffeeWithMonkeys said:
It is like that! I guess for the most part I don't think in brands except when the brand name has taken over.

And I do think I'll just use Jello and not the actual brand Jell-O. I think if I say gelatin no one would understand what it was :D
Click to expand...

Except me, who had never even visited any anglophone country and wouldn't know what Jelly-O is, wasn't it rather obvious. Gelatin, sure, there is that stuff somewhere in the kitchen drawers.
 
Kind of do need to be specific in this case because it's my post apocalyptic story and one person is asking the other if it's going to be possible to make Jello/gelatin since they have no refrigeration now, but it is cold outside so they're going to try to make it gel with the cold temps.

They really want to recreate Thanksgiving like they remember and Jello is important to some of them.

Secretly the dressing I make and the orange Jello with fruit cocktail in it, I'd be happy with those two things on Thanksgiving. We never eat the turkey, not sure why I still make one. But give me dressing and orange Jello and I'm happy. For my son it would be green bean casserole.
 
People are overthinking this. You are not infringing anything or creating any risk of legal jeopardy by using a brand name in your Literotica story. I suppose if you used it in a title or did something that made it look like your story was authorized by the brand owner it would be different. But that almost certainly would not be the case.

You shouldn't hesitate. There's no problem with this.

Brand names are often better than generic names because they give the story a more detailed and therefore more realistic feel.
 
RubenR said:
image.php


These stories come with all different kinds of flavors
Click to expand...

That's so perfect for my Valentine's Day story. Fruit, chocolate sauce, dessert.... and I credit Tex for the idea. :rose:

Food and sex... what's not to like about that combination. It's just peachy :eek:
 
RubenR said:
You're needlessly complicating things. People can identify themselves with normal use of brand-names, and that may benefit certain stories; create a more intimate feeling.
Click to expand...

SimonDoom said:
People are overthinking this. You are not infringing anything or creating any risk of legal jeopardy by using a brand name in your Literotica story. I suppose if you used it in a title or did something that made it look like your story was authorized by the brand owner it would be different. But that almost certainly would not be the case.
Click to expand...
Look at fiction in the marketplace. Are brand names evident? Are brand TMs announced? Do authors shy away from naming brands of vehicles, weapons, foods, clothes, software? Short of actively libeling a brand, naming it is no problem. James Bunt pulled his Burberry tight, checked his Walther PPK, jumped into his Aston-Martin, and sped to the nearest Domino pizza parlor.
 
^^ Anybody remember 'Girly-Girl', the official beer of No Maam?
 
jaF0 said:
^^ Anybody remember 'Girly-Girl', the official beer of No Maam?
Click to expand...
I remember "Spud, the beer that made Boise famous."

I push Anchor Steam beer and XLNT tamales in my stories. But I'll generalize with McFood or Scarf'n'Barf, or slightly anonymize as BurgerThing (something like a burger), TacoSmell (not really a taco), CrapInTheBox, StarFucks, etc. Not for fear of legal retaliation, but because I hate them.

You can safely invoke the shimmying lemony gelatinous mass of Jell-O.
 
ChloeTzang said:
I do that all the time and I don’t bother with the tm thing. It’s like drinking a coke. Pulling on your Nike’s. Grabbing the Kleenex. Drinking a Bud. They’re not going to bother because that usage is pervasive. Now if it wasa published book, maybe. But here. I wouldn’t bother. They’d have to come after thousands of us and for what?
Click to expand...

In my novel I mentioned several name brands and there were no torches and pitchforks. I suppose as long as one is respectful in how the product is portrayed, they consider it free advertising.
 
NotWise said:
The site says the page no longer exists. They still do offer this guide for correct use of trademarks, but the link to the list does not work.
Click to expand...

I took the URL directly from a list that exists. It was there today--at the URL I copy and pasted and Lit. truncated out of usefulness. I have it in hardcopy. Guess others will have to bring it up themselves if they want to use it.


(Opps. I was checking scores in my older account. Take this posting as being from Keithd.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

MediocreAuthor
  • Locked
A question (primarily for male readers) about mentioning the menstrual cycle in a story:
2 3 4
Replies
76
Views
2K
YDB95
YDB95
8letters
8letters' big list of writing tips and advice
2
Replies
44
Views
1K
lovecraft68
lovecraft68
ragal2
A chapter of my story was rejected without explanation, claiming WRONGFULLY it was using AI.
Replies
18
Views
540
ragal2
ragal2
Stimtheone
Continue vs Separate
Replies
6
Views
271
Stimtheone
Stimtheone
madelinemasoch
Category Question...
2
Replies
33
Views
776
JaxRhapsody
JaxRhapsody
Back
Top