Velcro Doesn't Want You to Say Velcro Anymore

Lots of pop songs have hooks. This one has loops, too. Velcro Cos. has released a music video with a message it hopes will stick as well as its products: "Don't Say Velcro." The video features actors portraying trademark attorneys, joined by a few actual lawyers in the background, pleading with the public to respect the company's brand and refer to similar "scratchy, hairy" products as "hook and loop" fasteners, the AP reports. "We're asking you not to say a name we took 60 plus years to build," the group sings. "But if you keep calling these Velcro shoes, our trademark will get killed."

Velcro CEO Fraser Cameron says the video was viewed more than 4 million times worldwide by Tuesday afternoon. "We want people to know there's a real company behind the brand folks know and love and that there's a difference between Velcro brand products and others in the marketplace," he says. "There's only one Velcro brand. Everything else is just hook and loop." Swiss engineer George de Mestral invented Velcro in the 1940s after studying burrs that stuck to his dog's fur during a walk in the woods. The company's fasteners are now found on everything from spacesuits to diapers, but Velcro's patent expired in 1978, allowing competitors such as 3M to move into the market. (More velcro stories.)