I drove by Taasbag last night. "Super Bowl specials Sunday" on Marquees(sp?). I laughed.

I still don't get how they can have right to something. It is just the name of the game. It is a noun. How do you get rights to a noun?
People shouldn't be able to name their kids after people w/o paying money to them. Same stupid concept if you ask me!

Businesses should substitute "Toilet Bowl" for "Super Bowl". With the exception of plumbers and building supplies companies, the unusual context should make it plain enough what is being referred to.

If enough businesses did that, the NFL might consider some type of "Conditional Use" policy to avoid looking ridiculous.

Sounds rediculous as the NFL's Big Screen restriction.

kio-Very true. I remember that "SUPER BOWL" (feels good to be able to actually say it!) and they were the most boring commercials in the history of any of the "Big Games". The ones that were entertaining, when you tried to talk about them seconds afterward, you couldn't even remember the product, website, any kind of name or brand, just the funny parts of the skit. What a HUGE waste of advertising/branding dollars.

I've even had a University tell me that their colors were protected and couldn't use their two colors together within the same ad. I ignored that challenge. Colors, as far as I have been made aware, cannot be protected. That was two years ago and....whew! I think of it every time I design an ad using those particular colors, and chuckle at the thought that they think they have an exclusive on two very simple colors.

"You see, use of that term in an ad, without paying for the rights, infringes on the National Football League’s trademark. The NFL also has a trademark on the term “Super Sunday."
WOW; what a farce!
Like the NFL is not making $$$$ HAND OVER FIST now. If they had any smarts they would just publically support legalized betting on the game, and take a %age of that as well!
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I see our governmnet has blown $50 million or so throwing a US census ad in there! REAL SMART use of tax payer $$$ there! The 1st oman that your company is on the road to bankruptcy is placing an ad in the super bowl! Remember all the dot com ads that flooded the thing in 99? I once did a study on ROI (Return On Investment) that you would have got if you held all the stocks short (making profit when the price declines) of all the companies that placed a super bowl ad that year. The return often would have blew away most any fund out there for the year! It's literally thee biggest waste of $$$ a company can possibly do.

I run into this problem year-round :O)

Marci here! Some great ideas all around, thanks! I'll put them to use next season. You all make it sound so easy.

Gilly-That's awesome! While I didn't know the teams that were going to play at the time of designing the ads, I did know they were playing in Miami. Guess it's true, sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees!

Out here in all of our casinos they call it "The Big Game."

How ‘bout “NFL Championship Game”, or is that also protected? If so, just “Football Championship”, “Pro Football Championship”, or “Saints-Colts Championship Game”? Or hit it a bit obliquely, “Superior Sunday Football Specials.”

Oh yeah, I just trademarked all these, so before you use them, send me a cheque.

"Watch the SUPER BOWL here we have specials".
Sorry Janesvillean I still think it is stupid.

frogger, you can SAY "Super Bowl" in a news story or headline. You cannot ADVERTISE using the name, e.g. the Gazette could not run a page of restaurant ads and call it "Super Bowl Sunday Specials", nor could the restaurants put anything like that in their own ads, signs, or menus.
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The NFL has only recently (the last few years) been aggressively enforcing this, but federal trademark law is pretty crystal clear.

Is there i different way to spell Super or Bowl?
Super Duper Soup Bowl Party.

I don't understand why you cannot use the term "super Bowl".
I hear on WCLO when they talk about Green Bay Packer and they cannot say it.

Isn't there is new issue with WHO DAT. Guess you better arrest any folks with a cannot think of the term for when you mess up the English language by the way you speak.It is sorta like dialect.

Kid- Super Bowl. That is just something you use every night. Maybe you should sue THEM for the rights!

Is their any other group that uses initial NFL- they should sure them.

To big for their britches and greedy bastards is what I think.

So we cannot have a "super Bowl party" at our home?

Gazettefan- you could get sued because you have stolen ever "gazettes" paper name!
Opps ideas
We are having a SUPER Party on SUNDAY!

I heard that a recent government study reveals that the NFL is now more powerful than Canada.

Kid, exactly when does that party begin?? ;)

id stick with using super bowl, and if the nfl comes calling just tell them it was meant for a party at thekids crib:)