DB Owns Yeah Right – Yeah Right

Family First NZ is advising Bethlehem Community Church to continue advertising their ‘yeah right’ billboards despite legal pressure from DB Breweries.

“Family First came under the same pressure from DB when we put up a billboard in March on the Southern motorway in Auckland highlighting the issue of the value of stay-home mums,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ. “However, we sought legal advice which told us that we were free to use the words ‘yeah right’ as the words were only restricted when advertising beer. Our colours used were also different to the Tui billboards.”

“The legal advice said that the words “yeah right” were already established in NZ slang and that it had not originated with the Tui beer advertisements.”

The advice also said “Although the billboard would be recognized by most viewers as having some similarity to the well known Tui beer advertisements, that, of itself, is not sufficient to make the billboard either Passing Off or a breach of the Fair Trading Act.”

“It is completely ridiculous to believe that the Bethlehem Community Church is deemed a competitor to Tui beer, or that a customer would turn up to an alcohol outlet and ask for Bethlehem Community Church Lite,” says Mr McCoskrie.

“Our advice to the church is to ignore the threat made by DB and to continue serving the Bethlehem community with their programmes.”

Family First has passed on their legal advice to the church leaders.

Ends

© Scoop Media