Fastweb Wants to Avoid Another 'Megan Gale Case': Trademark 'Christmas Card' Filed

In recent weeks, Iliad surprised the market by announcing a new advertising campaign featuring Megan Gale, who had been a spokesperson for Omnitel, later becoming Vodafone. To avoid further revivals, Fastweb + Vodafone (the company formed by the merger of Fastweb and Vodafone) has filed the verbal trademark "Christmas Card".

A Defensive Move

The Christmas Card was a Christmas promotion from Omnitel and Vodafone that, in the past, had great success. To prevent other operators (particularly Iliad) from using the brand, Fastweb has filed the verbal trademark with the Italian Patent and Trademark Office of the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy. Omnitel had never registered this trademark but had registered the Summer Card trademark.

Launched for the first time in 1999, the Christmas Card from Omnitel (later Vodafone) allowed users to obtain a bundle of SMS, minutes, and, in its latest versions, data traffic to make the most of the operator's network. Initially, the promo cost 10,000 lire. Interestingly, in recent years, the trademark "Christmas Card" has been used for some Christmas offers by WINDTRE, without raising objections from other operators.

With Iliad, however, the situation is very different. The operator continues to grow, and quarter after quarter, it is nibbling market shares from the historical operators active in the Italian market, thanks to permanently fixed-price plans and very transparent commercial proposals. The competition among various providers is thus becoming increasingly strong, and Fastweb aims to avoid new Megan Gale cases.