Judge Rules Jewel's Jordan Ads Covered By Free Speech
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Feb 16, 2012 8:20PM
A federal judge ruled that Jewel-Osco's 2009 ad using Michael Jordan's imagery is protected by the First Amendment.
Jordan had sued the grocery chain saying his image was used for commercial speech in the ad, which ran in a Sports Illustrated issue commemorating Jordan’s induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The judge ruled the ad "does not propose any kind of commercial transaction."
The ad featured a pair of basketball shoes with the number 23 on the soles below the words “Jewel-Osco salutes #23 on his many accomplishments as we honor a fellow Chicagoan who was ‘just around the corner’ for so many years.” The ad includes the Jewel-Osco logo and the grocery chain’s slogan “Good things are just around the corner.”
Before you assume Jordan is a Dominick's man, he also filed a lawsuit against them for an ad in the same Sports Illustrated issue because it said Jordan was “a cut above” next to a $2 off “Rancher’s Reserve” steak coupon. That suit is pending in federal court.