Johnny Carson was for many years the star of a well-known television show, The Tonight Show. For about 20 years, he was introduced nightly on the show with the phrase, “Here’s Johnny!” A large segment of the television watching public associated the phrase with Carson.
A Michigan corporation was in the business of renting and selling portable toilets. The company chose the name “Here’s Johnny Portable Toilets,” and coupled the company name with the marketing phrase, “The World’s Foremost Commodian.” Carson sued, claiming that the company’s name and slogan violated his right to commercial exploitation.
Argument for Carson: The toilet company is deliberately taking advantage of Johnny Carson’s good name. He worked hard for decades to build a brilliant career and earn a reputation as a creative, funny, likable performer. No company has the right to use his name, his picture, or anything else closely identified with him, such as the phrase “Here’s Johnny.” The pun is personally offensive and commercially unfair.
Argument for Here’s Johnny Portable Toilets: Johnny Carson doesn’t own his first name. It is available for anyone to use for any purpose. Further, the popular term “john,” meaning toilet, has been around much longer than Carson or even television.
We are entitled to make any use of it we want. Our corporate name is amusing to customers who have never heard of Carson, and we are entitled to profit from our brand recognition.