Booksquare

As noted by David Thayer recently, Hershey, the maker of fine chocolate products*, decided that no publicity is good publicity. They thought that throwing a fit and saying “no way” to their signature product on a book cover would be a better plan than, oh, having lots and lots of customers walking by the book, seeing the Hershey name, and thinking, “You know, a kiss sounds good right about now.”

As we’re sure you’re aware, filing a lawsuit is always the optimal conflict resolution tool. Sure, you can talk, maybe have a meeting, raise a few concerns, come to a mutually acceptable agreement. But litigation is what keeps America working. Without the Suing Mill, we would have a much higher unemployment rate. Consider that the next time you try to talk nice to your neighbor about the tree destroying your concrete.

In its complaint, Hershey said it was concerned consumers might assume [Michael] D’Antonio’s biography of the Hershey founder (which featured an image of an oversized Hershey candy bar on its cover) was written with the cooperation of the corporation. Under the agreement, stickers are being sent to retailers for books that have left the warehouse while the statement will be included on reprints.

We suppose the biggest question remaining is whether or not readers of the book really would bother to ask the big questions. “I wonder if Hershey cooperated with this book. If so, well, that certainly colors my impression of the American icon. I am switching to M&M Mars. No, no, make that Cadbury. Nobody writes books about them.”

Once again, the world is safely turning on its axis.

* – We’ve been assured of this by people who eat chocolate; we trust our sources.

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• S&S Settles With Hershey