Hulk Hogan v. Post Cocoa Pebbles: And the Winner Is?

Professional wrestler and reality TV mainstay Hulk Hogan has filed a claim against Post for an advertisement for Cocoa Pebbles cereal in which an animated character based on Hogan’s likeness appears.  The suit was filed in Florida district court.  In the Cocoa Pebbles ad, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble are in the ring against an opponent with long blond hair and a long blond mustache referred to as “Hulk Boulder.”  Hulk Hogan went by the name Hulk Boulder in the 1970s.  The commercial kept running after Hogan originally objected to it in August 2009.

In the advertisement, the Hulk Boulder character initially wins a match against Fred and Barney, and eats a bowl of Cocoa Pebbles, but then Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm toss Boulder into the air.  Boulder breaks into pieces upon landing, which Hogan characterized as humiliating in his complaint.

Widow of Fred Astaire files lawsuit over annual dance awards ceremony named “Fred and Adele Astaire Awards”

In early June, Robyn Astaire, widow of dance legend Fred Astaire, filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York, for the purpose of blocking use of Astaire’s name in conjunction with the Fred and Adele Astaire Awards, to be held at John Jay College.

The awards ceremony, which seeks to recognize dance perofrmances and choreography work in Broadway productions and film, has been held for the last twenty-eight years.  Based on the allegations in the complaint, Fred Astaire licensed use of his name in 1982 for the Astaire Awards, as they were known at the time.  Robyn Astaire continued the tradition by occasionally allowing use of Fred Astaire’s name for the event, but in 2006 stopped giving such authorization because she felt the nature of the event had changed.

Here is a link to the full story:

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/31/stumble-for-an-awards-show/?ref=media