The Rapper vs. the Chihuahua

Remember when hip-hop was all about guns, tricked-out rides, and offensive lyrics? Well, now it's evidently about trademark infringement.

But one thing hasn't changed. It's still all about how to get the most attention.

The rapper 50-Cent has sued Taco Bell for its unauthorized used of his "50-Cent" trademarks. It seems the fast food joint wrote a letter to Curtis Jackson (a.k.a. 50 Cent), asking him to consider changing his name to either 79-cent, 89-cent, or 99-cent for one day this summer to promote their value menu.

Now, Taco Bell must have known that Fitty would never agree to this. So instead of simply keeping the correspondence personal, Taco Bell included the letter in a public relations campaign, effectively using 50-Cent's name as a promotion without his authorization.

"Given Jackson's enormous popularity, the press ran with the story, thus generating millions of dollars in free publicity for the "79-89-99 Cent Why Pay More Ad Campaign"--which, of course, was the whole idea. After the media had spread the story throughout the United States, Taco Bell finally got around to sending the "letter" to Jackson," the complaint reads.

We didn't recall this spreading of the story throughout the United States, so we did a search. The letter was dated June 18. The one and only mention of the campaign in the press, according to a search on Factiva, was a short item from the World Entertainment News Network.

But by June 19, the story became more about Fitty's furor over the incident. His rep told OK! Magazine it was "a sleazy and ill-conceived publicity stunt."

For days afterwards, the headlines kept coming. From the South China Morning Post, 6/21: "50 Cent Angered by Fast-Food Stunt." The Montreal Gazette, 6/23: "Taco Bell's Knuckles Rapped by 50 Cent."

The news spread around the world, all right. Thanks to 50 Cent.

And now, with this complaint filed yesterday in New York and the media it's getting, everyone will know about Taco Bell's 79-89-99 Why Pay More value menu this summer.

by Megan Barnett