Rupert Murdoch has never met an irrational fear of the Boomer set that he couldn't exploit for cash. Which is why Fox News filed a trademark for "OK Boomer" earlier this month, just weeks after the current media meme trend of the term took off.
There's nothing unique about Fox's move here. In all honesty, it's probably a rational money-making decision for a lecherous media conglomerate that feeds on the souls of Baby Boomers to make a profit. They're not the first ones to try it, either. On Halloween—twelve days before Fox filed their paperwork—Kevin Yen of Little Neck, NY filed an "OK Boomer" merchandise trademark. Rustbelt Creations joined the party on November 12, in hopes of making some stickers, decals, and temporary tattoos; this application even includes the trademark "…," which Boomers love to use in place of all other punctuation, particularly when discussing the insidious machinations of George Soros. On November 13, William Grundfest of Los Angeles filed a trademark for "OK BOOMER!" with an exclamation point, which is obviously going to be a ticketed evening of live entertainment including plays, concerts, and lectures.
There's a good chance that none of these trademarks will be approved—like Lebron James's "Taco Tuesday" trademark attempt, the office might deem the phrase to be too ubiquitous. Still, the idea that Rupert Murdoch could profit off the one sardonic comment the rest of us have to make about the Boomers he's helped to brainwash—that's a depressing portent of our current circumstance.
If you want to know more, Josh Gerben, who broke the news in the tweet above, runs a delightful Twitter account that tracks all kinds of weird trademark claims. He recently spoke with NPR about it, too.
Image via NeedPix.com