Polar demands that Pepsi can new line of slush with similar name

Frozen syrup, anyone?Our own Polar Beverages is suing Pepsi to try to make it rename a new line of frozen sludge drinks called "Polar Shock."

In a lawsuit filed yesterday in US District Court in Boston, Polar charges the name will make people think it had something to do with the stuff, which is now offered at BU's Agganis Arena.

Polar argues that, in addition to basic trademark issues, the new brand will harm Polar's reputation by unfairly associating it with slush laden with high-fructose corn syrup when, in fact, Polar is now promoting some of its products as "Fizzically Fit." In the complaint, Polar notes it sponsored the "Fizzically Fit Summer Tour of 2010," featuring Ayla Brown:

Polar has no control over the quality of the products or the public perception of those products that the PepsiCo Defendants offer under the POLAR SHOCK family of marks. Any failure, neglect, or default by the PepsiCo Defendants or negative public perception of PepsiCo or the POLAR SHOCK products will reflect adversely upon Polar. In this instance, this risk of negative public perception is heightened because of the choice by Polar to market, at least in part, its products as healthy, FIZZICALLY FIT products.

Polar, which sells its liquids along the East Coast, in Minnesota and on Bermuda, and which has used the Polar name since 1902, says Pepsi knew full well that Polar exists, both because the two companies have a deal under which Polar distributes Pepsi's Gatorade and because executives from the two companies serve on industry boards. Plus, Polar says, it asked Pepsi more politely last spring not to use "Polar" in the product name, especially since it already had a trademark on "Mountain Dew Shock." Pepsi, Polar alleges, refused to change the brand strategy thought up by Applebaum, a "brand identity" and "name development" firm. On its site, Applebaum explains why it simply had to use "Polar Shock:

To excite the teen and young-adult male audience, a name that evoked a visceral response seemed just right.

Polar Shock cues the category with attitude. Applebaum then developed branded flavor names to reinforce the positioning and bring flavor intensity to the brand identity: Bonechiller Cherry, Orange Frost, Razzberry Blues, Serious Strawberry, and Strawberry Melonade.

This is not Polar's first battle with a giant soda company. In the mid-1990s, Polar reacted to Coca-Cola's polar-bear ads with one showing a polar bear discarding a can of Coke in exchange for a can of Polar Seltzer. Coke sued.

• Complete complaint