Pony Vs Nike : Who Will Get The V For Victory?

The footwear business is a competitive field for all the companies involved. The competition for your shoe dollar is as fierce as the games the shoes are used for. Each campaign uses the best marketing minds available to entice you to part with your hard earned dollar for a product that costs $5 to make in an Asian sweatshop.

Pony is not one of the companies that regularly compete for your dollar and haven’t since the 80’s. The last time the general public was aware of the shoes may have been when the Teen Wolf wore them to take the Beacontown Beavers to the state championship. My recall may be off and he may have been wearing Adidas. I think they are big in wrestling, skate boarding and discount stores. As a last gasp at attention they have decided to take Nike to court to protect their copyright.

The basis of this lawsuit is the difference between the letter V and the Pony Chevron logo. V is a famous letter known for sponsoring today’s episode of Sesame Street, an 80’s sci-fi miniseries and for signifying victory. Nike introduced the “V For Victory” campaign starring such luminaries as Sergio Aguero and Cesc Fabregas flashing the famous two fingered salute. Pony is suing as this resembles their logo. They should also consider suing Winston Churchill and the Ancient Greek philosopher Alphabeterus who created the alphabet.

Pony feels the use by Nike of the V will confuse consumers. The real confusion would be going to a shoe store and seeing Pony sneakers on sale as most people think that they went out of business years ago. I’m pretty sure being compared to Pony is the last thing that Nike would want to get out of this campaign. The only winner are the lawyers for Nike who will be defending the case. I doubt Pony has any petty cash to pay their legal team and their copyright is worth the $39.95 selling price of their top shoe.