From the earliest silent films to today’s 3D blockbusters, trademarks have been supporting players to the motion picture industry.  While the movies themselves are undeniably the main attraction, the viewing experience would seem diminished and incomplete if the studios did away with the iconic logos and sounds that precede the opening credits.  What would “Gone with the Wind” be without MGM’s lion, with his distinctive roar?    And Paramount’s mighty peak , Warner Brothers’ shield , Columbia’s torch-bearing lady , Universal’s globe , and 20th Century Fox’s floodlights  are all etched into our collective cinematic conscience, along, of course, with this unforgettable image: .
And Oscar®  himself  not only denotes the highest achievement in film but is also a tightly controlled trademark.  But despite the enduring impact of these and other brand images over the long and storied history of the cinema, trademarks have never held center stage, so to speak—until now.

This year, at the 82nd annual Academy Awards ceremony, the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film went to a movie that didn’t just incidentally include trademarks.  Rather, the winner was a film whose entire cast consisted of them.  That film is Logorama, which All Movie Guide describes as a “satiric animated short subject . . . [that] imagines a massive American city where practically everything has been replaced by some sort of corporate symbol—the buildings are advertising logos, the people are characters from noted television commercials, and even the birds and insects have the familiar look of name brand trademarks.”     From the Microsoft Windows butterflies that flit through the opening frames, to “oldies but goodies” such as “S & H” Green Stamps and Esso, Logorama is literally a cinematic tour de force of trademarks and consists of nothing but well-known logos, accompanied by a crooning Dean Martin soundtrack.  In fact, the lead characters are a couple of profane Michelin Men, who bring to mind the avenging duo from Pulp Fiction.  Other roles are played by a uniquely endowed Green Giant, and even a demented Ronald McDonald riven with road rage.  The movie so abounds in unwholesome, if amusing, brand “performances” that cinemaphiles began to wonder at the Sundance Festival how the producers could distribute the film without facing hundreds of lawsuits.  But apparently, the film’s inventive parody and that thing called “The First Amendment” have so far kept litigation at bay.  And now with Oscar in hand, Logorama seems safer than ever from legal retribution.  So, after decades of bit parts, trademarks have finally declared, “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.”