**The Prancing Horse: A Ferrari Phenomenon**

Have you ever seen someone ask if a random sports car is a Ferrari? I have. According to my mom, every red sports car is a Ferrari. The prancing horse has almost become like Kleenex, right? Kleenex is a brand name of facial tissue, but everyone just calls facial tissues Kleenex. I think Ferrari's public perception has moved far beyond victory and performance to just nice sports cars in general, which is why I have such a hard time with them going after Philip Plein.

**The Misconception**

To non-car people, Ferrari doesn't symbolize Italian luxury, exclusivity, performance, design, and the quality the world over. The prancing horse symbolizes success, because they cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nobody who saw Philip Plein's post would think "Hmph, this post definitely makes me think less of Ferrari." They're thinking, hmph, that guy probably has a lot of money.

**The Lamborghini Alternative**

My question is, would seeing Ferrari tell owners what they can and cannot do with their car, dissuade someone from buying one? Would they look somewhere else? (electronic music) Lamborghini looks like Ferrari on the surface. They're Italian, they make fast cars, and they've got a farmanimal as their mascot. But Lamborghini differs in one major area. They know who the frick is buying their cars.

**The Luxury of Insanity**

Since the beginning, Lambo's whole plan has been to build the most ridiculous and flashy cars for ridiculous and flashy people. James went to the Lamborghini factory last year, and he said it was basically like an old school speed shop. Their cars might cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but Lamborghini is all about building the craziest possible.

**The Unicron and Ferrari Cease and Desist**

And, their clientele knows this. You don't buy a Lamborghini because you want people to know you enjoy Italian luxury, exclusivity, performance, design, and quality; you buy it because you're insane. Why do you think Alex Choi chose the Huracan to build his Unicorn on? In Deadmau5's case, Ferrari didn't really have a choice when it came to sending that cease and desist.

**The Precedent**

Remember those floor mats and badges? Cute, right? Well Ferrari argued that the logos infringed on copyright, which they have the right to protect. If Ferrari didn't go after Deadmau5, it could have come back to bite them in the butt. Large companies, like Ferrari, have to go after every case of copyright infringement no matter how small, to keep something like that from happening.

**The Philip Plein Conundrum**

What about our friend Philip Plein? I think that's too far. He's a rich fashionisto who's whole brand revolves around decadent opulence. As we discussed, he's pretty much the perfect client, and no one thinks those shoes are going to be a collab.

**The Ferrari Perception Dilemma**

Come on, Ferrari! What are we doing? In the end, I think Ferrari is just a weird company in general. They make incredible machines, and you can't argue with their heritage, but I think their quest to protect that heritage at all costs makes them seem a bit stuck up, and that might alienate future buyers.

**The Car Wars Connection**

Hey guys, we got a show called Car Wars. The Donut Gang going against some of your favorite YouTubers like Linus Tech Tips. My favorite challenge was the cruise control race with Gus Johnson. I surprisingly was not very good at it, but Gus killed it, so check it out, that's Car Wars where you get your videos.

**The Conclusion**

Love you guys, like I said at the top, you can't see me. I said I like you, remember? Be nice; I'll see you next time. If you need protection, don't send the Tafazzi after me. Bye!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(engine revving)- Ferrari.The most well knownauto maker in the world.(engine revving)Builder of some of thefinest cars in history.And also, huge sticklers.Why is Ferrari sendingcease and desist lettersto celebs doing things with their cars?I think Ferrari is goingabout it all wrong.First, a little disclosure.I'm a big Ferarri fan.I have been ever since I was a kid,so all this is going tocome from a place of love.Second, a few months ago,we built the most American Ferarri ever.And the whole time, I wassecretly hoping that wewould get a cease and desist from Ferrari.I think Ferrari is going tosend us a cease and desist.I kind of hope they do. It'slike a little badge of honor.That seemed like it would be pretty cool,like a right of passage.We didn't, but theexperience had me wondering.Why did I think we were going to hear fromFerrari's legal departmentin the first place?I'm going to tell you about two cases.One where Ferrari was in the right.And one where I'm not so sure.I first learned whata cease and desist wasback in 2014 when I readthat Ferrari insistedelectronic music god, Deadmau5,fix his custom Ferarri 458.Deadmau5's prancing horse had been givena bright blue wrap featuring nyan cat,a cute little puddy catwhose body was a pop tart.Adorable.♪ Meow meow meow meow meow ♪♪ Meow meow meow meow meow ♪(beep)To complete the build,the Ferrari was also givencustom badges, floormats, and a license plate,proclaiming Purrari.Nice.A cease and desist is a document sentby a business or individual,in this case, Ferrari,to another business or individual,in this case, Deadmau5,warning them that ifthey don't quit partakingin a perceived illegal action,more legal action will be taken.The illegal actions, in Ferrari's eyes,were the custom Ferraribadges and floor mats.If Deadmau5 didn't removethese offending itemsfrom his 548, Ferrari wouldsue his ass into oblivion.His career would be turnedinto Ghosts 'n Stuff,am I right, Burbank?Oh crap. You know what, (beep) you!(beep)This was kind of a big deal at the time.Deadmau5 had a reputationof being a troll,and a company as big asFerrari had taken notice.I'm guessing it must have beenpretty validating for him,even if it meant he had to remove the wrapand the custom badges.It was a legal win for Ferrari.But, as we'll see later, Idon't think it was worth it.Just this year, Ferrari sentout another high profilecease and desist, andthis one was a doozy.German designer PhilipPlein received an orderfrom Ferrari to takedown an Instagram postwhich featured his shoes on the hoodof his Ferrari 812 Superfast.In their cease anddesist, Ferrari's lawyersargued that Plein's poststarnished the reputationof Ferrari brand receptionand causes further material damage.That cause is extremely subjectivein my extremely ignorant opinion.Later on in the letter,they make a better case.The undesirable connectionbetween Ferrari's trademarks,on one hand, and Philip'sline of shoes, on the other,interferes with Ferrari tosell their own line of shoes,apparently.Okay, so that makes a littlebit of sense, I guess.Ferrari says that placing the shoesnext to the Ferrari logo, alongwith the color coordination,might mislead some customers into thinkingthat this is some sort of collab.So they want to nip that rightin the bud, understandable.But when they say that Ferrari'strademark and model carsare associated in your pictureswith a lifestyle totallyinconsistent withFerrari's brand perception,That's where they lose me.He's got babes, and cars, anda mansion, and the Ferrari.Isn't that exactly howeveryone perceives Ferrari?I think that's what bugsme about Ferrari so much.They act like they don'tknow who buys their cars.No other company acts this way.What if Nike sued peoplefor reselling their shoes?What if Dodge sent ceaseand desist to peoplewho kept the bumper guards on?Actually if you do that,you should be sued,that's just my opinion.But, I digress, maybe Ferrari is right.If that's not the lifestyle and perceptionthat Ferrari wants, then what is?We need to look closer attheir history to find out.But not too into it, becausethis isn't Up to Speed.(fast electronic music)Ferrari started building roadcars back in the late 1940s.The Ferrari 125s was asports car, of course,that could pull double duty as a cruiserand full time race car.Racing, back then, was different.They basically raced onclosed off public roads,and so Ferrari, the guywho started Ferrari,had no other choicebut to build road cars,if he wanted to build race cars.Since the company had so muchexperience winning races,the road cars were really, really good.Regardless, Ferrari's reputationwas built upon two pillars.Race cars and road carsinspired by those race cars.The name Ferrari becamesynonymous with performance,especially if you ignorethe 2019 F1 season,am I right Burbank? Comeon. Come on, Chuckle Hut,I'm on fire!That legacy of victory,which celebrated it's 90thanniversary this year, mind you,is what Ferrari is talkingabout when they say lifestyleand perception in theircease and desist letters.In Ferrari's own word, theFerrari logo, with it's iconicprancing horse symbolizes Italian luxury,exclusivity, performance,blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.We get it!But in the case of PhilipPlein's shoes and babes,I don't think Ferrari is in the right,because I don't think theperception Ferrari hasof themselves is howeveryone else in the worldsees Ferrari.Now, what I'm about to sayis completely anecdotal,and thus, inadmissible in court, but,have you ever seen someoneask if any random sports caris a Ferrari?I have.According to my mom, everyred sports car is a Ferrari.The prancing horse has almostbecome like Kleenex, right?Kleenex is a brand name of facial tissue,but everyone just callsfacial tissues Kleenex.I think Ferrari's publicperception has movedfar beyond victory and performanceto just nice sports car in general,which is why I have sucha hard time with themgoing after Philip Plein.To non-car people,Ferrari doesn't symbolizeItalian luxury, exclusivity,performance, design,and the quality the world over.The prancing horsesymbolizes success, becausethey cost hundreds ofthousands of dollars.Nobody who saw PhilipPlein's post would thinkHmph, this post definitelymakes me think less of Ferrari.They're thinking, hmph,that guy probably (beep).Again, I have literallyzero legal experience,besides Phoenix Right, ace attorney,but I think this wholecease and desist thinggoes beyond the courtroomand into the court of public opinion.My question is, wouldseeing Ferrari tell ownerswhat they can and cannotdo with their car,dissuade someone from buying one?Would they look somewhere else?(electronic music)Lamborghini looks likeFerrari on the surface.They're Italian, they make fast cars,and they've got a farmanimal as their mascot.But Lamborghini differs in one major area.They know who the frickis buying their cars.Since the beginning, Lambo's whole planhas been to build the mostridiculous and flashy cars,for ridiculous and flashy people.James went to the Lamborghinifactory last year,and he said it was basicallylike an old school speed shop.Their cars might cost hundredsof thousands of dollars,but Lamborghini is all about buildingthe craziest (beep) possible.(upbeat music)And, their clientele knows this.You don't buy a Lamborghinibecause you wantpeople to know you enjoy Italian luxury,exclusivity, performance,design and quality,you buy it because you're insane.(fast electronic music)Why do you think AlexChoi choose the Huracanto build his Unicorn on?In Deadmau5's case, Ferrarididn't really have a choicewhen it came to sendingthat cease and desist.Remember those floor mats and badges?Cute, right?Well Ferrari argued thatthe logos infringed oncopyright, which theyhave the right to protect.If Ferrari didn't go after Deadmau5,it could have came backto bite them in the butt.If another, more serious, infringementhappened in the future,and Ferrari didn't goafter those floor mats,the perspective defendantcould point at that and sayhey- you guys didn'tsay anything about that,why should we listen to you?And that could hold up incourt because of precedent.Large companies, like Ferrari,have to go after every caseof copyright infringementno matter how small,to keep something likethat from happening.What about our friend Philip Plein?I think that's too far.He's a rich fashionisto,who's whole brand revolvesaround decadent opulence.As we discussed, he's prettymuch the perfect client,and no one thinks those shoesare going to be a collab.Come on, Ferrari! What are we doing?In the end, I think Ferrariis just a weird company,in general.They make incrediblemachines, and you can't arguewith their heritage,but I think their questto protect that heritageat all costs, makes themseem a bit stuck up, and thatmight alienate future buyers.I think it would behoove them to rethinktheir brand perception a little bit.And have more fun.I mean, you guys makesupercars, for crying out loud!Hey guys, we got a show called Car Wars.The Donut Gang going againstsome of your favoriteYouTubers like Linus Tech Tips.My favorite challenge wasthe cruise control racewith Gus Johnson.I surprisingly was not very good at it,but Gus killed it, so check it out,that's Car Wars whereveryou get your videos.Love you guys, like I said at the top,you can't see me.I said I like you, remember, I said that.Be nice, I'll see you next time.If you need protection, Don'tsend the Tafazzi after me.Bye.♪ Meow meow meow meow meow ♪♪ Meow meow meow meow meow ♪♪ Meow meow meow meow meow ♪