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jonathan ...

M$2 January 12, 2009 09:24 PM

Is it illegal to represent the Presidential Seal on television?

There's a new Jack In The Box commercial where Jack is describing his cheap "Jumbo Deal" to the President on Air Force One. The back of the President's seat, however, says "Resident" instead of "President." Does anyone know why this is?

The video isn't available on YouTube right now, but here is a blog post that poorly transcribes the commercial: http://advmania.blogspot.com/2009/01/jack-in-box-jumbo-deal-commercial-2008.html

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peterliebe...

January 12, 2009 09:38 PM

Yes, the logo is regulated and cannot be used commercially except for sale from the Secret Service for charity.

"While use of the official seal is regulated by the White House Graphics and Calligraphy Office, variations of the Seal are heavily used in popular culture. One example is the use of a variation of the seal as a logo. The rock bands Blink-182 and The Ramones both use logos that are similar to the Seal. The mega-hit television show The West Wing used an altered Presidential Seal as part of its opening sequence.

Use of the Seal on products that are for sale is prohibited, but there is one exception. The U.S. Secret Service is allowed to use the Seal on items being sold to benefit their charitable fund. While not an exact replica of the seal is used (for example the words “Seal of the President of the United States” are replaced with “The President of the United States”), it is a close replica and has been featured on various retail items including a line of skin care products for men.

The use of the Seal of the President of the United States continues to be regulated so that it will not lose the respect and admiration that is deserves."
Source(s):
http://www.westwing.com/prse.html

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evan

January 12, 2009 09:47 PM

That's interesting, I just assumed the commercial was a play on the Presidential seal and that it was supposed to be Jack's plane, therefore making him simply a "resident" of the US and making the seal a clever joke!

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marcel m

January 12, 2009 10:11 PM

Actually it is illegal to represent the Presidential Seal on television and on many other media as per the following law.

18 USC Sec. 713 …
(a) Whoever knowingly displays any printed or other likeness of the great seal of the United States, or of the seals of the President or the Vice President of the United States, or the seal of the United States Senate, or the seal of the United States House of Representatives, or the seal of the United States Congress, or any facsimile thereof, in, or in connection with, any advertisement, poster, circular, book, pamphlet, or other publication, public meeting, play, motion picture, telecast, or other production, or on any building, monument, or stationery, for the purpose of conveying, or in a manner reasonably calculated to convey, a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States or by any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
(b) Whoever, except as authorized under regulations promulgated by the President and published in the Federal Register, knowingly manufactures, reproduces, sells, or purchases for resale, either separately or appended to any article manufactured or sold, any likeness of the seals of the President or Vice President, or any substantial part thereof, except for manufacture or sale of the article for the official use of the Government of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

If you remember correctly the Obama campaign (when he was still campaigning) and not as POTUS 44, unveiled a seal similar to the presidential seal and this debate raged for a while before the faux presidential seal was removed from the campaign, it was then that I chanced on the law quoted above. I hope you are enlightened by this,

Source(s):
http://conservemus.com/2008/06/21/obamas-new-presidential-seal-likely-illeg...
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/06/barack-obamas-s.html
http://www.snopes.com/history/american/turnhead.asp

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