Pushing the Envelope: Spike’s Nose is Out of Joint
Just about everyone is proprietary about their brand identity. You work hard to craft your image, so it’s only natural you don’t want someone sullying your good name.
But there’s proprietary and then there’s out of touch. Enter Spike Lee.
The director of films such as “Do the Right Thing” is suing the Viacom owned cable network TNN, claiming the channel’s plans to change its name to Spike TV could cause him “irreparable injury” because people might think he’s affiliated with the venture, dubbed the “first network for men.”
When I first heard of Spike TV, I didn’t think of Spike Lee. Neither did my husband. “Spike TV?” he said. “A whole channel of that blonde guy from ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’? Aside from you, who the heck would want to watch that?”
Judging by the promo spots, the network’s content will consist of extreme sports shows and cartoons like “Ren and Stimpy,” “Stripperella” and “Gary the Rat,” a new series about a rodent/attorney (insert your own joke here–it’s too easy). Personally, none of these things bring the Knicks-loving director to my mind.
And Lee may not be as important a Spike as he thought. In a Google search of the term, Lee didn’t even appear in the top 10 sites that popped up. In order, the first five were Spike Magazine, a U.K.-based online pop culture site; Spike Nashbar, “the world’s #1 volleyball supplier,”; “The Spike,” a newsletter of East Coast Native American events; Spike & Mike’s Animation Festival; and the Gold Spike Hotel & Casino.
What is Lee going to do next? Go after fellow director Spike Jonze or humorous big band music icon Spike Jones, claiming he alone can carry the moniker?
