Scrabble Says, “Hey, That’s Mine.”

According to the The Wall Street Journal, Scrabble’s owners, Hasbro and Mattel, are working to shut down Scrabulous, one of the most popular applications on Facebook.

While there are authorized Scrabble games online, Scrabulous has gained popularity because it’s free, easy to play with friends and easy to access on Facebook. Scrabulous listed more than 600,000 daily active users on Facebook as of Wednesday and is one of the 10 most used applications on the site. People can also play at Scrabulous.com.

The game was developed by brothers Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla from India. They created it after they couldn’t find an online version of Scrabble that they liked.

Instead of going to court, a better idea would be to introduce an official version of Scrabble on Facebook–one that is clearly better than the knockoff.

Ear Deep In Legal

Because I worked on the Coors account and now work on the Camel account, I’ve long since learned that legal has as much say, if not more say, than the brand managers on the business. Which is why I find it amusing to see Stuart Elliott puzzle over the legalese involved in marketing alcohol.

The Coors Brewing Company is offering consumers a chance to win tickets for the 2008 or 2009 Super Bowl. The video clips that contestants are invited to submit on two Web sites (coorsbeer.com and coorslight.com), to demonstrate why they deserve a trip to the Super Bowl, cannot depict Santa because the character appeals to those under the legal drinking age of 21.

Also forbidden in the videos, according to a lengthy list of contest rules, are famous people; references to football teams, players, coaches or owners; political themes; depictions of drinking while driving; drinking games; drinking beer “rapidly, excessively, involuntarily”; religious references; gambling; illegal or explicit sexual activity; any form of intoxication; any beer brands that compete with Coors or Coors Light; violence; and dangerous situations.

Oh, yes, and everyone who submits a video or appears in one must be 21 or older.

One more thing. You have to enter your date of birth twice before you can visit the sections of the Web sites devoted to the contest.

The UGC-based promotion is being handled by Avenue A/Razorfish and The Integer Group.