How many have to hide their logo?

[Chris Adams]

On TV shows, like Mythbusters, you often see brand names covered for various legal reasons.
And financial. You have to pay them to get them to show your brand.


Well, I'm working on a Harley Davidson 'Tallboy'.
The guy I got it from had to tape over his bottom drawer to conceal the mural to comply with his company policy.

He also had to remove (and lose) the Harley emblem from the top.
Only plus from my view, the bottom drawer mural looks like new, as it's been covered all this time.

As I was peeling this cover off, I wondered how many places make you do this?
Most the boxes from a few years ago where covered in stickers promoting just about everything.
Here's a box that's a recognized, supported commemorative box and the factory marking had to be covered.
Is this now common?

 

[Lomotil]

I've noticed this lately, too.

I always thought it was the producer's choice because the company whose logo was being broadcast on the show didn't pay for advertising their brand... Is this the case?

 

[Aaron8x608]

Its the lawyers. Because of unscripted "reality based" content they're concerned with negative reactions, thus damages etc...

 

[diesel research]

Well, I'm working on a Harley Davidson 'Tallboy'.
The guy I got it from had to tape over his bottom drawer to conceal the mural to comply with his company policy.

He also had to remove (and lose) the Harley emblem from the top.
Only plus from my view, the bottom drawer mural looks like new, as it's been covered all this time.

As I was peeling this cover off, I wondered how many places make you do this?
Most the boxes from a few years ago where covered in stickers promoting just about everything.
Here's a box that's a recognized, supported commemorative box and the factory marking had to be covered.
Is this now common?

As far as toolboxes go, the places I choose to work at, never have any rules about tool boxes.

Not being blind to the overall industry, I am aware of several places that specify specific solid colors, and even brands/sizes.

Some are now not even allowing personal boxes.

Most people that I know tend to avoid the gaudy graphics and overloaded decals these days, not like in the past. Now I might see 1 or 2 engine/vehicle emblems on there and that is it. Or some "service awards"

Some recommend buying a very conservative solid color such as red or black (more luck with black) as they are acceptable in more places than a lime green or canary yellow. The same would apply to wild graphics, murals, commemorative, etc.

 

[Walterchang]

I have a great story about this situation. I was working on an Episode of "Entourage", well in this episode they were filming a movie within the show. They had the real film crew and an actor film crew. In this one particular scene they need "actor grips" to do a crane move on dolly track. Well the production did not want Actors handling real film equipment so they asked if I could step in and act the part. They gave me a voucher, extra pay for the day on top of my regular pay. Well I had my companies t shirt, which all the film equipment had on it too, which was prominetly displayed in the entire episode. They made me remove my shirt. I was perplexed, my company always allowed our logo to be displayed on screen. A lot of the crew thought it was ridiculous that I had to change. It delayed the screen ten minutes. Sometimes it is just because they are dipshits.

 

[briandrex]

I have a great story about this situation. I was working on an Episode of "Entourage", well in this episode they were filming a movie within the show. They had the real film crew and an actor film crew. In this one particular scene they need "actor grips" to do a crane move on dolly track. Well the production did not want Actors handling real film equipment so they asked if I could step in and act the part. They gave me a voucher, extra pay for the day on top of my regular pay. Well I had my companies t shirt, which all the film equipment had on it too, which was prominetly displayed in the entire episode. They made me remove my shirt. I was perplexed, my company always allowed our logo to be displayed on screen. A lot of the crew thought it was ridiculous that I had to change. It delayed the screen ten minutes. Sometimes it is just because they are dipshits.

We have any actor amongst us! JK. That's pretty cool but the whole changing the shirt thing is a little weird given you had your logo displayed before.

 

[Chris Adams]

As far as toolboxes go, the places I choose to work at, never have any rules about tool boxes.

Not being blind to the overall industry, I am aware of several places that specify specific solid colors, and even brands/sizes.

Some are now not even allowing personal boxes.

Most people that I know tend to avoid the gaudy graphics and overloaded decals these days, not like in the past. Now I might see 1 or 2 engine/vehicle emblems on there and that is it. Or some "service awards"

Some recommend buying a very conservative solid color such as red or black (more luck with black) as they are acceptable in more places than a lime green or canary yellow. The same would apply to wild graphics, murals, commemorative, etc.

Yes, I'm noticing a LOT less stickers on used boxes.
Five years ago, every used box I messed with, you couldn't find the box for the stickers.
Now, almost nothing.
Workplace rules, or change in culture?

 

[Gtamazing]

If you watch "Sons of Guns" there is a Mac box proudly displayed in every shot. Like they purposely place them to be seen on TV.

 

[MoToys]

As for that Harley box...
My dealer told me a story that he purchased a large amount of them thinking they would sell well. Guess what he was wrong. First off the boxes cost more because snap on actually pays licensing to use their logo/proprietary stuff. Second, turns out guys say they like the theme boxes but when it comes time to pull the wallet out, not so much.
He was stuck with a lot of these boxes until he just sold them at a price to break even.

I have a great story about this situation. I was working on an Episode of "Entourage", well in this episode they were filming a movie within the show. They had the real film crew and an actor film crew. In this one particular scene they need "actor grips" to do a crane move on dolly track. Well the production did not want Actors handling real film equipment so they asked if I could step in and act the part. They gave me a voucher, extra pay for the day on top of my regular pay. Well I had my companies t shirt, which all the film equipment had on it too, which was prominetly displayed in the entire episode. They made me remove my shirt. I was perplexed, my company always allowed our logo to be displayed on screen. A lot of the crew thought it was ridiculous that I had to change. It delayed the screen ten minutes. Sometimes it is just because they are dipshits.

Which episode was that?

If you watch Sons of "Guns" there is a Mac box proudly displayed in every shot. Like they purposely place them to be seen on TV.

They did the same with American chopper but it was with a few different brands.

 

[larry_g]

Last place I worked had a written policy that no competitors t-shirts were to be worn. I was building automated assembly equipment where the industry has a lot of mobile builders and lots of free t-shirts.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Outlander]

Years ago I bought hundreds of IBM workstations (can I say IBM?). They all came with t-shirts in the boxes which was against policy. Nearly shipped back a couple of dozen to teach them a lesson. Finally, gave them out to a team of technicians via a 'raffle' rather than delay installation and to make sure it was fair since there were not enough to go around. Each company has different policies depending on which way you look at it I guess.

 

[Kent Skinner]

I've done a bunch of work on TV (off screen), including a show produced by the Mythbusters production company.

The reason that things are "Greeked" or covered up, is to not piss off the advertisers. They try and decide what kinds of companies will advertise on that show, and not display any item in that category.

For example, we used SolidWorks to design things before we built them. We could display SolidWorks (and we did, because they had a local company give us consulting time) but the computer running SW was always Greeked. The chance of a product like SW being advertised was close to zero, but of course computer companies would advertise.

Lincoln & Miller don't advertise on TV, so it's easy to get free welders because there won't be a conflict.

There are exceptions, but in general, that's what happens.

 

[Al Bundy]

I really don't know the answer I just figured it was because the company didn't pay for the exposure. I remember reading an article once outlining all the money a production company can take in from selling air time as advertising. I have noticed that in a movie that displays Coke products you usually don't see any Pepsi logos.

 

[diesel research]

Yes, I'm noticing a LOT less stickers on used boxes.
Five years ago, every used box I messed with, you couldn't find the box for the stickers.
Now, almost nothing.
Workplace rules, or change in culture?

Both. Mostly change in culture, and I am with them every step of the way. Sure 6billion "racing" stickers look great on some 80s era mac box, but you won't see me loading up on them on a new one. A lot of people simply don't care for them or care enough to install them.

 

[ptschram]

I was in a documentary a few years ago. I was only able to have items displayed in my shop for which I had a connection to, or had permission to show. I could not play the radio during the taping, nor could I play any music that I hadn't either written or had a license to use during the segment.

It's all about the licensing. I did get some get cool banners though.

As for stickers, I worked in a shop where the technicians were prohibited from having any stickers on their toolboxes other than the manufacturer's badge. Nothing was allowed on the shop walls and even family pictures were prohibited. This shop also prohibited the wearing of any sort of hat or cap on the premises. On the Friday before the Super Bowl, a co-worker was given a week off for wearing a sweat shirt of the team playing against the Colts.

I wasn't too upset when I got fired form THAT job.

 

[crewchief888]

every dealership ive ever worked at kinda frowned on having the "competition" displayed on a toolbox, but was never told to mask or remove the stickers.
i'm thinking it may fall along the same lines as having a "local ***" sticker on your box in a non-union shop. as long as it's not company provided box, not sure if you could be "forced" to mask or remove it.
but labor/employee rights vary from state to state.

 

[Chris Adams]

As for that Harley box...
My dealer told me a story that he purchased a large amount of them thinking they would sell well. Guess what he was wrong. First off the boxes cost more because snap on actually pays licensing to use their logo/proprietary stuff. Second, turns out guys say they like the theme boxes but when it comes time to pull the wallet out, not so much.
He was stuck with a lot of these boxes until he just sold them at a price to break even.

snip.

Would not doubt that for a second.
I picked this up cheap. The guy bought it about 5 years ago, new, so it had been in stock a LONG time.

It's actually a nice sized box, pretty, if you don't mind dark purple...
As to the Harley Logo, yeah, I would just as soon use blank steel.
Though I have a buddy in New Orleans (owns 7 Hogs) thinks it's great...
Lots of his biker pals have them.

Just another box to me.

 

[ptschram]

every dealership ive ever worked at kinda frowned on having the "competition" displayed on a toolbox, but was never told to mask or remove the stickers.
i'm thinking it may fall along the same lines as having a "local ***" sticker on your box in a non-union shop. as long as it's not company provided box, not sure if you could be "forced" to mask or remove it.
but labor/employee rights vary from state to state.

The guy that owned the place was pretty unique and unforgiving.

I got fired the month after our best month in years and the month that the parts department had its biggest month since the store opened yet I was told I wasn't doing well enough (parts manager). Sold more than anyone ever had but not enough? WTF?

 

[MoToys]

Would not doubt that for a second.
I picked this up cheap. The guy bought it about 5 years ago, new, so it had been in stock a LONG time.

It's actually a nice sized box, pretty, if you don't mind dark purple...
As to the Harley Logo, yeah, I would just as soon use blank steel.
Though I have a buddy in New Orleans (owns 7 Hogs) thinks it's great...
Lots of his biker pals have them.

Just another box to me.

Agreed.

 

[bluebolt]

I work as an extra on movies here in Shreveport. Sometimes the "product placement" is downright funny. I can't give any details yet since these movies haven't been released yet. Sometimes it's easier to have you change your shirt than worry about whether a brand on your clothing is appropiate.

 

[kythri]

Both. Mostly change in culture, and I am with them every step of the way. Sure 6billion "racing" stickers look great on some 80s era mac box, but you won't see me loading up on them on a new one. A lot of people simply don't care for them or care enough to install them.

People seem to be far more conscious about resale value, as well - I'm not seeing cars loaded down with bumper stickers or window stickers as much as I did a decade ago, either.

 

[diesel research]

People seem to be far more conscious about resale value, as well - I'm not seeing cars loaded down with bumper stickers or window stickers as much as I did a decade ago, either.

^^+1

 

[valentineiv]

I did see a small shot of a SO tool box in the last transformers movie.
Do you think it was paid to be put in.

 

[pro machine Engineering]

the only time I seen a tool box covered was when I was working in a large aircraft sub contractor. A guy I worked with had a lot of stickers all over his kennedy top box and roll away. When they brought people through the plant they called ahead and made him hide his tool box in the ******* until they was done with the tour.

 

[diesel research]

When they brought people through the plant they called ahead and made him hide his tool box in the ******* until they was done with the tour.

Ashamed of his tool box. Mildly insulting I guess.

 

[ptschram]

Ashamed of his tool box. Mildly insulting I guess.

Maybe something "off-color" on the toolbox? Nekkid women maybe?

 

[Walterchang]

The episode of Entourage was from season five, it could have been episode 9,10, or 11. They were filming all the "smokejumper movie" bits together over one week.

 

[Chris Adams]

More a 'neatness and order' thing I would expect.


The 'called ahead' takes me back. In my retail auto parts days, we had 'tours' where company brass from the main company (not car related) would tour the stores. They, of course, knowing Jack about auto parts would judge on appearance, in stock condition, etc.
One day they toured twelve of my stores in a 200 mile drive.
They saw the same six parts (name brand, bulky and out of stock from the maker for quite some time) in every store.
I had guys driving them. Tour would wander out of store, manager would call the next store and then my guys would grab the products from the shelf and drive like maniacs to beat them to the next store...

Company life at its finest

 

[Stuey]

Sometimes products are sent in for promotional placement.

I know that in Iron Man 2, they received some Bosch gear to be used in a scene where Stark broke up the concnrete floor. I believe there's also Snap-on gear there, but I don't think the boxes get any facetime.

In other shows or movies it's because the studios didn't want to give free advertisement or endoresement.

I wouldn't have figured but it does make sense not to show one brand when a competitor might be paying for advertisement.

I wonder if there's a difference in policy between movies and TV shows.

 

[rsanter]

I work for a compant that has 'logo police' in that they dont want others showing or using are logo witout permission. we do not ask for money but we want to protect the logo and the company image by them just getting permission from us.
we will use or show other company images, drawings, and diagrams etc if its easier or better for us to do so. in this case I have to contact the company and get written permission to do so and they have to send me the image not me just snip it from the ney. I have never had anyone tell me know and they have never ask for money.
in some instances we will remove company logos or emblems if we are showing technology and they have not given us the item and we dont want to appear to be endorsing that specific brand

so the result...it can often be easier to remove or cover than it is to make the call and do the paperwork
its not always about money

on the other hand this is also done because you dont want to endorse or connect your self and image with another companys product and you dont want to deal with making that product look bad (this is the TV connection often times) and get sued for it or even have to deal with the threat

bob

 

[pro machine Engineering]

Maybe something "off-color" on the toolbox? Nekkid women maybe?

no nekked woman. mainly beer company stickers etc. We had girls working in the area and it passed the company ethics policy for them. We all just laughed looking at the ole boy he looked a lot like the cavemen in the commercials only twice as big. they should have been hiding him he could say far more offensive things than the tool Box represented

 

[Kent Skinner]

I wonder if there's a difference in policy between movies and TV shows.

Absolutely.
TV has advertisers, and movies don't. Just about any prominent product in a movie is paid for.

 

[Flash21]

Chris Adams,

Let's see some pics of that Tallboy...Is it cranberry or is it really purple?

Was this a flip opportunity and can you share what you paid?

I only see them as the bank collectible, usually, not the real thing.l

 

[Chris Adams]

Chris Adams,

Let's see some pics of that Tallboy...Is it cranberry or is it really purple?

Was this a flip opportunity and can you share what you paid?

I only see them as the bank collectible, usually, not the real thing.l

Hi, not pretty enough yet to take pictures. Front was very grimy, but oddly, only on the top and face of the drawers. Been busy chasing some Lista stuff, haven't got my hands dirty yet. Will be working on it today, may post some picts if I think it's pretty enough.

It's NOT 'cranberry' My error. It's Black Cherry. Says so right on the tags. Feel kind of stupid, don't know why I thought Cranberry.
It's a very nice size though. 2 x 3 square feet, and holds a lot more than a 40 inch SnapOn top and bottom.
I like the lock lever, much smarter than the usual open to unlock.
The bottom mural is like new, must have been covered since it's first day.


Probably gonna flip it, so sorry, not going to post a price.
However, it cost only a couple hundred more than I just paid for a like newKRA2106FPCM and this has about twice the storage.

 

[dragoocoda]

I remember the TV Show "Home Improvement" had a toolbox on their ficticious show "Tool Time" it was a Mac Box and had a sticker on the bottom of the box, but the show was sponsored by the ficticious "Binford Tools" so maybe Mac Tools paid to have their logo on the box in the show. Also, you could see in Tim's garage all the Craftsman tools displayed, but no logos there..

 

[outcast99]

I tell my customers I work for Apple but technically I work for TRG... I have no affiliation with Apple except for the title. (Apple senior tech advisor)

 

[Flash21]

It's Black Cherry. Says so right on the tags.

Interesting, I wasn't aware there was a color called black cherry...

KLars1