May 8, 2007

Zodiac Vodka vs Chopin

We're always up for a good David vs Goliath story, and we've just heard about one in the vodka world that piqued our interest a bit. Apparently Zodiac Vodka is getting ready to mix it up with Moet Hennessy, the folks behind Chopin. We're not sure how serious it is - they're upset because Chopin calls itself the only luxury potato vodka in the world, but hey...more power to 'em. Worst case it gets them a little press, right?

Actually, we think it's interesting Zodiac's been marketing themselves as a luxury spud vodka for almost 10 years, and now the bigger guy's trying to steal the word. Nuff said - we like Chopin but we're siding with the little guy.

Zodiac Spirits, Inc has announced that it has filed a suit against Moet Hennessey in US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan claiming false and misleading advertising of their Chopin Vodka brand. Chopin’s current advertising and related marketing materials prominently feature Chopin as “The World’s Only Luxury Potato Vodka”. Zodiac Spirits, Inc. owns the Zodiac Vodka brand which has been marketed as a “Luxury Potato Vodka” since 1999. Zodiac is a uniquely positioned, small batch potato vodka, produced and bottled in Idaho, USA to the highest quality standards.
In connection with the filing, Zodiac Spirits released the following statement:
“Moet Hennessey is a major force in the distilled spirits marketing industry. They have aggressively marketed their Chopin Vodka brand, and in doing so continue to falsely make the claim that Chopin is ‘The World’s Only Luxury Potato Vodka’. Zodiac directly competes with Chopin both at retail and in licensed establishments in a number of markets.
After Chopin’s refusal to honor Zodiac’s request that it cease making this false claim, we feel that our only alternative now is to turn to the courts to prevent Chopin from further benefiting and causing additional confusion through these misleading advertising and marketing tactics.”
Please refer to www.zodiacspirits.com for additional information on Zodiac Vodka.