A Forest Fuel Feud: Mickey's vs. Buc-ee's

Mickey the Moose statue outside the Vermilion, Ohio store

Keel moose and squirrel.

Those were the sinister orders that the bumbling Pottsylvanian spies Boris and Natasha received from the evil Fearless Leader many times on the old Rocky and Bullwinkle TV show back in the late 1950s and early 60s. 

Well, someone is still trying to ""keel moose." Only there's no squirrel involved this time – just a beaver. And he's the one trying to do the killing.

I'm talking about the federal lawsuit that Buc-ee's, a Texas-based chain of travel centers/gas stations with a beaver for a mascot, has filed against Coles IP Holdings, a Milan, Ohio based company that owns a gas and convenient store chain with Mickey the Moose for a mascot.

I just noticed that Buc-ee wears his baseball cap like Huntz Hall

Buc-ee's – which is in the process of expanding into the Ohio market – is alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition. Buc-ee's says that the design of Mickey the Moose too closely resembles its beloved Buc-ee beaver. 

What do you think?

Buc-ee's tactic is simple: sue any competitor with an animal for a mascot and make them spend a lot of money fighting the lawsuit until they give up or, financially drained, close for good. And the strategy has worked so far, laying waste to a whole menagerie of animal mascots including dogs, ducks, chipmunks and alligators. 

But the argument that there would be confusion with a beaver and moose both selling gasoline and convenient foods is ridiculous. It's like Kellogg's suing General Mills and Post for using animals as mascots on their cereal boxes. I think grocery shoppers can tell the difference between Dig'em Frog and Sugar Bear. And in this case, most Ohioans wouldn't even know what a Buc-ee's is – or care.

I sincerely hope Buc-ee's lawsuit collapses like a poorly built beaver dam in a heavy storm. 

Mickey's was long established before Buc-ee's recently decided to enter the Buckeye State. Mickey's got its name from its founder and owner, Mick Coles, and the stores date back to the early 1980s. How can a Texas upstart beaver come to Ohio and try to bully a company that was already in business?

Mickey the Moose is all about fun. He stars in his comic books, where he is an intrepid adventurer with dinosaurs for friends. He's featured in comic pages in the company tabloid newspaper, The Hoof & Antler. He's also a plush doll, and his likeness appears on cups, mugs, Christmas ornaments, dog toys, shot glasses and more.

And he cheerfully waves to customers in the form of a statue in front of every Mickey's store.

One of the new, modern stores in Norwalk, Ohio.
It has a full-size dinosaur in it for the kiddies, with more to come..

As the company website notes, "His friendly grin welcomes every guest who walks through our doors, representing the spirit of the Mickey’s team and the friendly, welcoming environment we strive to create."

Anyway, I think Buc-ee's is going to regret suing Mickey's. It's not going to generate very much goodwill by entering the Ohio market and pompously attacking another company that was there long before they were.

Ironically, I've been familiar with Buc-ee's for a long time since my older brother lives in Texas. Years ago he sent me a cute photo of my nephews as tykes (they're adults now) posing in front of a Buc-ee's statue. So I was genuinely looking forward to visiting one of the stores with the beloved beaver. But not now.

It's a dam shame.

****

As a graphic designer for most of my career, I can't figure out how Buc-ee's convinces juries that when two ad mascots use some of the same colors and are drawn looking in the same direction, it automatically means that one of them copied the other. It's insane.

As for Buc-ee's, the fact that they use a bizarre spelling is probably their attempt to distance themselves from Bucky Beaver. He's the Ipana Toothpaste mascot from which the founder Buc-ee's got his childhood nicknam; it became his company's name as well.

Hilariously, Buc-ee is not the first beaver to be used in gas station advertising. Remember the Eager Beaver used by Cities Service?