Lawyers for Velcro Insist Other Brands Be Called Hook and Loop in a Funny ‘We Are the World’ Parody

In a very real and rather hilarious ad campaign, copyright lawyers for the Velcro brand broke out into song while insisting that other brands using the hook and loop design be referred to as such and not in their client’s name. The style of the ad seemed to be a loose parody of the 1985 USA for Africa fundraising video “We Are the World

Our Velcro Brand Companies legal team decided to clear a few things up about using the VELCRO® trademark correctly – because they’re lawyers and that’s what they do. When you use “velcro” as a noun or a verb (e.g., velcro shoes), you diminish the importance of our brand and our lawyers lose their *insert fastening sound.* So please, do not say “velcro shoes” (or “velcro wallet” or “velcro gloves”) – we repeat “velcro” is not a noun or a verb. VELCRO® is our brand.

Watch the making of our ‘Don’t Say Velcro’ educational brand video – from conception with Penn Holderness and the Walk West team, to shooting live on-site. Remember that using the VELCRO® trademark properly allows us to protect the integrity of the VELCRO® Brand and our trademark rights, and protect consumers from purchasing products incorrectly identified as VELCRO® Brand products.

Velcro also provided a behind-the-scenes look at making this hilarious commercial.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.