Lululemon parody: “will you choose a lulu or a mumu?”
© Photo: mumumelon
Lululemon has grown into a strong and recognisable global brand in the market for sportswear and yoga apparel.
The brand has a clear positioning: premium, lifestyle-driven and built around a strong community focused on wellbeing and movement. But that visibility also has a downside. The bigger the brand, the more closely it is scrutinised by the outside world. In the case of fashion brands, both production conditions and environmental impact are constantly under the microscope. And rightly so, of course: brands have responsibilities.
In lululemon’s case, this has now led to the appearance of a parody brand called mumumelon, complete with the slogan: “violating copyright, not the planet”. The parody brand is crystal clear about its intentions: “mumumelon is a dupe activewear brand. A deliberate shameless copy of lululemon. We made it to make a point.”
A parody brand with a sharp message. The criticism is aimed at the polluting production of clothing. At the same time, mumumelon is also trying to set a positive example itself: “It took us a matter of weeks to build a fake brand with products made by workers earning a living wage, in a wind and solar-powered factory. We even developed a plan to fully electrify our supply chain by 2040. We're not trying to compete with lululemon. We're just trying to embarrass them gently, in a friendly, encouraging way.”
Launching a parody brand as a form of criticism of a well-known trademark or logo happens far more often. Greenpeace, for example, has used this approach on several occasions. In many cases, this falls within the scope of freedom of expression. There is, however, an important caveat: in those situations, there is no commercial use of the parody brand. And that is, however hilarious or justified the parody may be, the legal vulnerability of the mumumelon initiative: there is a pop-up shop and a website on which products are actually being sold.
Will lululemon take action? If we were the “lululawyer” (see the witty video), we would advise waiting just a little longer, so as to avoid sending the parody completely viral. Responding now with legal threats would only add fuel to the fire. Otherwise, a lighter, more humorous response and engaging in dialogue would be the smarter move. Because lululemon may well be legally right, but from a reputational perspective it can hardly do anything but lose.
Website mumumelon: The problem with lululemon — mumumelon
Bio: Erwin is a trademark attorney and, as the managing partner, in charge of IT and Information Management. He works extensively with startups and scale-ups, while his clientele also includes numerous multinational corporations. Erwin possesses a sharp wit and a keen eye for remarkable trademark news and curious brand infringements.