Jack in The Box v. Moon Man – Mascots in Court

Word to the wise—don’t mess with the burger mascot. Jack in The Box, a popular fast food chain on the West coast, has taken up arms against cryptocurrency firm FTX over the use of an eerily similar mascot. The FTX mascot, called “Moon Man”, is a happy fellow with a large spherical head and a simple smile. The mascot for Jack in The Box is also a happy fellow with a large spherical head and a simple smile.

Wait a minute.

After FTX ran a number of ads over MLB games picturing their Moon Man mascot, Twitter users were some of the first to make the connection. Chatter quickly spread as people questioned the design and likened it to a lesser version of the Jack in The Box mascot. What came after this was something a lot scarier for the crypto firm—a cease and desist, followed quickly by a lawsuit. A lot of thought goes into creating icons for a brand, and one must tread carefully so that their creative doesn’t look too much like another. Otherwise, you could wind up with a couple of long lost twins and a potentially costly legal battle.