We've seen some amusing logo battles over the years, including no shortage of 'David vs Goliath' cases. Big brands are often accused of being bad sports for threatening small businesses that have branding they think looks too similar to their own, but the latest example is providing plenty of exposure for one New York kebab shop.
Pornhub is concerned that the logo of Döner Haus in Lower Manhattan could "cause confusion" with its own rather notorious brand. It's certainly not one of the best new logos, but the takeout joint says it won't take the online giant's threats lying down.
When Döner Haus opened on East 14th Street in March offering 'real German kebabs', its wordmark immediately came in for comparisons to what is said to be the internet's second-biggest porn site. Now Aylo, the owner of Pornhub, has sent a cease and desist letter to the restaurant.
The company, which has recently changed its name from MindGeek, argues that the restaurant's logo has “the same general look and feel” as its own, which may “cause confusion” and “deceive the public”. It's threatened to take “appropriate legal action” if the restaurant refuses to change its logo.
Döner Haus marketing manager Pauline Phan has expressed her surprise. She told the New York Post: “We are in two completely different business sectors, and we see no way how we can be confused with them. We will try our very best to fight it.”
The logo designs compared (Image credit: MindGeek / Döner Haus)
The logos do look extremely similar. However, if we zoom in on the details, the Döner Haus logo appears to use a slightly more yellow shade of orange, the text is thinner, the first part of the name is underlined and the second part is capped. It also seems a bit rich for Pornhub to threaten someone for using a likeness of its logo when its own logo design is presumably an intentional reference to a previous iteration of the YouTube logo.
The YouTube logo from 2015 (Image credit: YouTube)
The logo battle joins such amusing cases such as Barbie vs Burberry and Chanel vs Huawei. Could David beat Goliath? Well, a joke Japanese clothing brand managed to troll Gucci and win.
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Logo disputes often end in agreements about business segments, and it's not apparent that there would be any immediate overlap between the two brands. Döner Haus may also be able to claim protection as a parody, something that the rest of its branding would seem to back up with the phrases like 'big doner energy' in its window.
The action may overshadow MindGeek's recent rebrand as Aylo, a name that it's stressed has no meaning. The move, which it's described as a "fresh start", seems to be intended to help it turn its back on controversies including serious moderation issues and illegal content, but the logo battle isn't helping it stay out of the headlines. Ssee our roundup of other brands with similar logos for more uncannily close resemblances.
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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
