Yoko Ono 'John Lemon' Dispute Turns Into Marketing Gold for Breton Craft Brewer
The brewery nearly sold out after the dispute drew publicity, and it will stop production after selling its remaining 5,000 bottles, Picard said.
- Aurelien Picard, owner of the Brasserie de l'Imprimerie in Brittany, received notice in late March from Yoko Ono's lawyers demanding he stop using the 'John Lemon' brand name or pay royalties for referencing her late husband, Beatles legend John Lennon.
- The Brasserie launched 'John Lemon' five years ago because it seemed 'cool,' said Picard. Located in Bannalec, the small brewery produces between 50,000 and 80,000 bottles annually for local liquor stores and restaurants within a 40km radius.
- Lawyers threatened penalties of 100,000 euros and daily fines between 150 and 1,000 euros for non-compliance. 'Basically, they demanded we recall all our product,' Picard told AFP.
- Media attention turned the legal dispute into effective publicity, and the brewery nearly sold out. Picard said, 'I have less than 1,000 left,' noting the brewery won permission to sell its remaining 5,000 bottles by July 1.
- The company is now searching for a new name for its blonde beer. Picard considered 'Jaune Lemon'—the French word for 'yellow'—but Ono's lawyers were 'sour on the idea,' he said.
46 Articles
46 Articles
His name is John Lemon, he plays openly under the name of John Lennon and has become a small international case. The craft beer created by Breton Aurelien Picard was living a golden moment, between curiosity and growing sales, when Yoko Ono's lawyers came in. The widow of the former Beatle in fact asked to stop its marketing, considering the name too close to that of her husband. Picard, who produces beer in Bannalec, Brittany, told the story at…
Faced with the impossibility of marketing the "John Lemon", the brewer thought of renaming it "Jaune [Rubia] Lemon", but Dutch lawyers replied that "it looked too much like 'John'.
After a notice from Yoko Ono, the Brasserie de l'Printerie, in Bannalec, has to dispose of its stocks of "John Lemon" beer before July 1st. A hell of a commercial! Most of the bottles have left in a few days.
After Yoko Ono's legal warning, which challenged the name because it was considered detrimental to the brand linked to John Lennon, beer has become a real collector's item
Commissioned by Yoko Ono, a Breton brewery has to separate itself from its "John Lemon" beer. The Japanese artist has filed the name of the Beatles singer in order to avoid diversions. Thanks to the publicity generated by the case, the sales of acidified beer have jumped. - "Despite me, I stole a name": the beer "John Lemon" victim of his success after the bail of Yoko Ono (Conso and Trends).
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