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The North Face Doesn't Like Being The Butt Of A Parody

Jimmy Winkelmann, an 18-year-old University of Missouri freshman, says that a lot of his customers are members of the "anti-logo movement." Why else, one wonders, would they be wandering around in outerwear that carry a logo that proclaims "The South Butt."

Not everyone appreciates being the tail end of a joke, of course, as Adam Allington reports. North Face, for instance, thinks Winkelmann's jab at lemming-like youth culture is downright subversive. It has filed a suit claiming that The South Butt logo is similar to The North Face logo and is misleading. Winkelmann's attorney responds that the only similarity is the word "The."

If you're older than 18, you know the impact the lawsuit has had. "It's been moving like crazy, you know all of the t-shirts, long-sleeve shirts and everything else has just been selling like mad," says one retailer who carries the brand. And, more than 14 million Google hits later, Winkelmann's modest profits have been parlayed into paying for his entire college education.

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