According to this article by HuffPo. Ferrero, the makers of the beloved chocolate Nutella spread have sent a cease-and-desist letter to their biggest fan and creator of World Nutella Day.
Sara Rosso, creator of the Nutella Facebook Page (with 40 000 Likes) has been ordered to stop publishing anything with the Nutella name, logo or likeness.
According to HuffPo. Rosso was stunned by the legal document:
“I have a full-time job; I’m not trying to make a business out of this.” She declined to identify her day job, saying she would prefer not to involve her employer.
Since its founding, World Nutella Day has taken on a life of its own. Its Facebook page has just under 40,000 “likes” and the event has almost 7,000 followers on Twitter. Both accounts are managed by Rosso, as is the associated blog Nutelladay.com.
Major news outlets, including NBC, CNN and ABC, have built stories around World Nutella Day and helped grow the event from a blogger’s invention into an unofficial holiday in its own right.”
Read the full article here and Rosso’s response here.
Ferrero obviously have the final word with their famous brand paste, but I’m just left wondering if this is not a colossally stupid bit of brand management?
What do you think?