UFC color commentator and bon vivant Bruce Buffer trademarked his brother Michael’s signature “Let’s get ready to rumble!” catchphrase and then brilliantly parlayed it. Licensing deals allowed the famous phrase to be used in the video games Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast and Game Boy Advance and Greatest Heavyweights of the Ring for the Sega Genesis. Marketing campaigns that use the phrase include Mega Millions (“Let’s get ready to Win Big!”), Kraft Cheese (“Let’s get ready to Crumble!”), and Progressive Insurance (“Let’s get ready to bundle!”)
ABC news reported that the catchphrase had generated $400,000,000, and that was in 2009.
The most famous figure in mixed martial arts, Ronda Rousey, has sought Federal trademark protection too, for phrases including:
FTA
DNB
The first is an acronym for F*** Them All, while the second represents Do Nothing B****. The latter came about spontaneously during an interview for UFC Embedded.
Now Rousey is seeking Federal protection for a mark that might best be described as “weird.”
It’s called ROWDY RONDA ROUSEY IS IN THE HOUSE.
The official description says: “The mark consists of the words “ROWDY RONDA ROUSEY IS IN THE HOUSE” above a rectangle in which a woman’s face and hands appear, all within a larger divided rectangle with rounded edges.”
Adding to the peculiarity, the purpose of the mark is use as “Plastic name badges.”
Further, the official Correspondent, tasked with liasing with the US Patent and Trademark Office, is the legendary ‘Judo’ Gene LeBell, who coached Bruce Lee and Rousey, among generations of others.
And this is what it looks like, via the USPTO.
One possible explanation is that the “In The House” mark is somehow related to her starring role in MGM’s reboot of the 1980s cult classic Road House. Rousey plays the role Patrick Swayze made famous.
