The AP reported NFL Network analyst and former NFLer Shawne Merriman is "suing Nike for trademark infringement and unfair competition over its Lights Out apparel line." After Nike and Merriman "unsuccessfully negotiated to create a Lights Out apparel line" in '06 or '07, the company "used the name anyway." The lawsuit states that Merriman "acquired the federal trademark rights for Lights Out" in '07 (AP, 4/14).
STEP RIGHT UP...: The LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL reported the Mets and Caesars Entertainment have "extended their marketing and promotional agreement" through '18. Caesars will be "featured on various platforms, including Mets.com and throughout" Citi Field (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/14).
A REGULAR COMEDIAN: ROLLING STONE's Rob Tannenbaum writes Clippers F Blake Griffin is "one of the best players in the NBA, and certainly the funniest, which you already know if you've seen the dead-pan Kia ads he does" with actor Jack McBrayer. Griffin said, "I've always had a very dry sense of humor, and I've pretty much grown up on Will Ferrell, first on Saturday Night Live, then Old School and Wedding Crashers" (
ROLLING STONE, 4/24 issue).
THURSDAY'S CHILD: VARIETY's Brian Steinberg wrote advertisers this fall "hope to use the introduction" of CBS' Thursday NFL package to "tamp down pricing gains on other networks."As much as marketers "like the almost guaranteed massive reach" offered by NFL games on network TV, they "wring their hands at the skyrocketing prices associated with buying commercials." Ad buyers "hope to keep the hikes at a more moderate level than in years past" (
VARIETY.com, 4/14).
