Nickelodeon's sister network, Nicktoons, is not available in as many homes as Nick itself, but just the same it has picked up licensed properties like a revival of Speed Racer, and a pair of Marvel Comics series, none of which lasted very long. Their latest licensed property, however, is putting them in the eye of a storm of controversy, at least in the eyes of a small activist group out of Boston.
At issue is a forthcoming series, Zevo-3, which is being produced by an animation subsidiary of sneaker manufacturer Skechers. The activists in Boston want the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to block the show from ever airing, but the last I knew, the FCC didn't regulate broadcast cable programming. What bothers them is that one of the masked heroes in the show is named after one of Skechers' new shoes, the Z-Strap. Well, post-production editing can do something about that to appease these whiny get-a-lifes. They're better served trying to convince Skechers and other shoe makers to lower the prices on their expensive shoes to make them more affordable for Joe Consumer.
Given Nicktoons' recent track record, all the whining will be moot, since Zevo-3 probably will only last one season anyway, unless it gets repurposed on Nickelodeon to take advantage of the publicity, and that's sure to happen.
The FCC has rules that guard against using a program as a glorified infomercial, a rule that was reinforced after the toy-tie-in blitz of syndicated cartoons in the 80's. Skechers' representatives are adamant in stating that there are no promos for the shoes in the show itself, save for the one character I noted earlier. We'll soon see who's right.
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