Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May") is an annual celebration held on May 5 in Mexico and the United States. Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day (that's in September). Rather, Cinco de Mayo pays homage to Mexican culture and heritage.

There is no shortage of ways to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in our hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. NashvilleGuru.com has compiled a comprehensive list here.

Like St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a major beer drinking holiday. Beer companies are spending large sums on advertising and marketing to take advantage of this opportunity. For Corona, this means a twist on its popular "Find Your Beach" TV ads:

Not to be outdone, Dos Equis uses the "The Most Interesting Man in the World" to promote its beer for Cinco de Mayo:

Since his introduction in 2006, "The Most Interesting Man in the World" has arguably become "The Best Beer Salesman in the World." Sales of Dos Equis are reported to have increased by 22% at a time when sale of other imported beer fell 4% in the U.S. (source).

The Most Interesting Man in the World has also become wildly popular on the Internet. In fact, he has his own Internet meme, with a picture of The Most Interesting Man accompanying the phrase "I don't always [X], but when I do, I [Y].

The success of the "The Most Interesting Man in the World" marketing campaign led the owner of the Dos Equis brand to obtain federal trademark protection in the United States. The applicant submitted two examples of use:

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved the application, and THE MOST INTERESTING MAN IN THE WORLD issued as a U.S. federal trademark registration on April 6, 2010.

When it comes to developing a trademark protection strategy for your business, there are valuable lessons to be learned from the Dos Equis brand. A federal trademark registration provides a number of important benefits, which are detailed here. In short, it will help you protect your reputation, and it will help consumers to distinguish among competing producers. To paraphrase The Most Interesting Man in the World, I don't always sue for trademark infringement, but when I do, I prefer to have a federal trademark registration.

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