i spoke with a divisional VP of darden restaurants (olive garden's corporate parent)

[datasuspect]

who is responsible for PR and marketing. kind of a long story how i made the contact, i was talking to an old client from my brokerage days (i made an olive garden joke and gave him the backstory) and it turns out that someone close to him is a higher up in darden restaurants.

he told this person about what i had told him, and the VP contacted me and asked for more information. he says their legal team is seeking an injunction against several posters here for defaming darden restaurant's olive garden brand identity.

the fucked up part is that this person is really serious about it. i don't think they understand that it is a joke. i have a funny feeling this person is a freeper too.

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. LOL!

Yeah, good luck with that.

Even if it wasn't a joke, they don't have a legal pot to piss in.

[datasuspect]

3. what we don't know about dave pickens

might come back to haunt all of us.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. uh-oh

the kool kids are going to get it now :rofl:

[Critters2]

6. LOL!!!

There's something to be said for being the last one picked for the volleyball team!!

[rug]

4. Good. We can counterclaim negligent infliction of gastral distress.

[greatauntoftriplets]

5. I have never eaten at an Olive Garden.....

And I have three really good, locally owned Italian restaurants, within walking distance of where I live.

But what you posted is interesting.

[datasuspect]

12. 23rd/princeton in china town

best italian restaurant in chicago.

the ones by 23rd/oakley ain't so bad either.

[greatauntoftriplets]

13. Interesting...

I don't tend to get into the city that much...having turned into a suburbanite a year and a half ago.

The locations you mentioned seem really authentic Italian, and -- if I ever get into the city that way -- I will try them.

[Connonym]

7. you're yanking our chain

please tell me you're yanking our chain. Otherwise it's just too pathetic.

[datasuspect]

8. this is what i do instead of studying

it's just a variation on a theme.

[XemaSab]

9. k&r for the Palouse Earthworm!

:patriot:

[Dr. Strange]

10. I for one welcome our new overlords.

Submit to the Garden!

Zuppa Toscana! Zuppa Toscana!

[datasuspect]

11. those who cooperate

will get the tastier bits.

we will feed at the feet of our new corporate masters in troughs made of bronze (instead of junky old aluminum).

[petronius]

23. Gaaah!! FUCK YOU, joke thief!

You stole my funny... :mad:

[Generic Brad]

14. How is aggressively going after DU'ers good PR?

That sounds like a really bad PR move to me.

[datasuspect]

16. DUers are a small subset of the entire population

such a motley collection of leftists and freethinkers would be roundly despised by the demographic olive garden traditionally tries to target.

from a marketing standpoint, it's brilliant.

after all, the average olive garden customer will consistently use the olive garden product regardless of what geographical region they live in or visit.

"it doesn't matter if our customers live in the los angeles division (which covers the west coast) and visit the philadelphia division (which includes NYC), their brand loyalty, our consistent product delivery across divisions, and just plain old hospitaliano will bring them into an olive garden wherever they are"

-ross blanton, SVP North American Operations, Darden Restaurants

[Generic Brad]

21. Just for that, they may find me slumming elsewhere

[Bennyboy]

15. There is no such thing as bad publicicty......

[Tuesday Afternoon]

18. Its all good

;)

[datasuspect]

20. if NAMBLA had a website

it probably wouldn't generate much ad revenue.

[KamaAina]

17. Disclaimer: There are no Olive Gardens in my state, Hawai'i

thus, never having eaten at one (even while traveling on the mainland), I can hardly be said to have "defamed their brand identity".

Wassup with this? Did they merge with the RIAA or something?!

[datasuspect]

19. i found a paper in the Northwestern University Academic Journal Server

which links the key players involved with the formation of olive garden with the john birch society.

[crispini]

22. Recommended!

:kick: