Have you ever gone into a sketchy store and found some knock-off designer bag or piece of clothing that looked almost exactly like the real thing except something was just a bit off? That is probably because some company ripped-off the original brand and changed the logo ever so slightly, so it was barely noticeable. These companies didn't just change a letter in the brand name; they went out of their way to recreate the logo with a hilarious twist that will make you wonder if they are actually mocking the designer. So scroll down and see the most brazen and unbelievable acts of corporate theft that you'll ever see.
45 Times Companies Blatantly Ripped-Off Popular Brands In Hilarious Ways
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If you walked past this shirt, you might think it was the real thing at first glance until you took a closer look at the logo. Someone found this knockoff polo, and the fake logo is almost better than the real one. It might have been stolen from a world where horses are the dominant ones over humans.
This has to be our favorite because they didn't try to make the logo exact. We would want this one even though it is illegal to rip off-brand names. It's pretty funny that the horse is riding the man, and Ralph Lauren should think about updating their logo.
This is not exactly copying, but who would use the internet as branding for a cologne? It probably smells like desperation, political arguments, a dash of cyber-bullying, and online shopping debt. Those are the last things anyone would want to smell like.
There are so many combinations of smells that could be in this bottle, but none of those scents seem appealing to the nose. Even dogs wouldn't want to smell someone wearing this. Companies should stay away from internet smells in the future.
You can try to rip of KFC, but they will find out about it. No matter what combination of letters you try to use, it is still copying their brand. From HFC to GFC, they are all basically the same thing. At least they know that copying is the sincerest form of flattery.
How do they think of all the extra adjectives to describe the chicken? There is fancy fried chicken, crispy fried chicken, perfect fried chicken, and many more, but we don't know how many more names people could think of.
This is something a person would get tattooed on their body after a night of heavy drinking. It's the perfect amount of wrong where it is almost right. Despite the weirdness of this one, we can see plenty of people actually wearing these because they are two popular characters morphed into one.
What noise do you think Pika-Homer would make? Instead of lightning, would he be able to make donuts come out of his body to give enemies a snack while he escapes? This might be a pokemon that Ash would want to avoid.
This is the cross-over no one wanted or needed, but a random toy brand in China gave it to us. If you had ever wondered what a Lion King and Star Wars cross over would look like, now you have your answer. However, we don't think anyone was wondering.
The Lion Thing must be where Simba and the pride go to a galaxy far, far away, and Simba finds out that Scar is actually his father. That sounds like it would be the lowest-rated Disney movie ever. You never know what they will come out with next, though.
Why have Adidas when you could have Aids instead? This person needs to clean their shoes because they have "aids" all over them, and no one wants to track that everywhere they go. Of all the words this knock-off could have used, why did they choose "aids?"
Wouldn't you feel even slightly uncomfortable walking around with the word "aids" on your shoe? Imagine buying these and telling people, "Look, guys, I just got a new pair of aids. I went to the store, saw them, and knew I needed aids."
If you are buying official Adidas apparel, you will usually find inspirational messages that make you want to get up and move. However, when you buy knock-off merchandise, you might get a different, more realistic message.
Why wouldn't you want to walk around with the message "Nothing is possible" on your backpack? It gives everyone the idea that the world is a cruel place, and not even a sports apparel company could make you feel motivated to do anything.
Did Breaking Bad get their show idea from this Russian bakery, or did they steal the show's idea? We are guessing that this shop took the Breaking Bad idea and ran with it. Besides their signage, what other ideas did they take? Do they have meth inspired bread or make their employees wear hazmat suits?
While the sign is clever, couldn't they have thought of their own ideas? The creators of Breaking Bad probably have no idea that this place exists, so it doesn't matter to either party. As long as they're selling only bread, that's all that matters.
Right off the bat, you know exactly what you are paying for with this jacket. The company is not trying to fool you because it is clearly labeled "The North Fake." There is no denying that this is a rip-off, but they aren't trying to trick you into thinking that it's the real thing.
However, if they are going to write "The North Fake" on the jacket, why not write the same thing on the tag? If they want to make a fake, they have to commit to it, right down to the tags. If this had the correct brand name on it, no one would know the difference except the person wearing it.
Sometimes, the knock-offs are hard to distinguish from the real thing because the logo is already so small that the change is barely noticeable. This pair of knock-off Jordans has a small logo, but you can see this version made him look naked when you look very closely.
Michael Jordan has some junk in the trunk in this version of the logo. He appears to be budunk-a-dunking. We don't know why they decided to give him a butt crack, but it is a dead giveaway that these are not real Jordans.
We don't know why anyone would put the words "concentration camp" on a children's toy, but someone thought that would be good marketing for this Paw Patrol knock-off set. Paw Patrol is a children's show; we hope they aren't talking about concentration camps.
What is this even referring to because we know the show has never been set in a concentration camp. Maybe there was a mix up in translation along the way, or someone used a thesaurus for the first time, but this is just wrong.
When you are craving a chocolatey treat, grab yourself a Kat Kot bar, and have a break. In The Office, Andy couldn't remember the words to the Kit Kat jingle, and it is probably because he was getting confused with the Kat Kot jingles.
They couldn't think of any other name, color, or logo, so the brand thought changing a few letters would make a difference. We wonder if there is a taste difference between the two because everyone wants to know which is the superior candy.
Although the controller buttons have different letters and say Fony instead of Sony, you can't beat a price like that. We have no idea if it actually works or if it is a piece of garbage, but wouldn't you want to know because it is much cheaper than the real thing.
Maybe it only works with the knock-off Playstation. This is probably better if you are just looking to display controllers rather than use them because we doubt that it will work more than one or two times. It would be shocking to find out that this is just as durable as the Sony controller.
When you see this sign, your first thought is probably not Mexican food, but at least they found a unique way to attract people. Someone saw this in Costa Rica and had to capture it because they couldn't believe that the restaurant used this out of all the brands they could rip-off.
They have burritos, but if you want tacos or hot dogs, they have those too. People take their children here, and they have no idea what the logo means, or what it is referencing. Hey, if it is a good burrito, people don't have to care what the restaurant is called.
If a pair of shoes could describe this year, these would be the perfect pair. Instead of the original label that says Ugg, these just say Ugh. Back when Uggs were super popular, many brands came out with similar shoes or complete rip-offs.
As long as you had something that looked like the real thing, that's all that mattered. If someone hadn't zoomed in on the tag, people would have thought these were real because they look exactly the same at first glance.
We don't know how or why this Pikachu got so messed up, but it is deeply concerning. How could they think that his eyes are supposed to be on his cheeks? He looks more like a demon Pokemon rather than the sweet, adorable Pikachu everyone knows and loves.
This must be the Chernobyl Pikachu addition; it is almost the same as the real one, but it is just slightly mutated from the radiation. Someone must defeat it, or else it will get stronger and come back to rid the world of normal Pokemon.
Who knew Peppa Pig was the mascot for Gucci's new line? We didn't because this bucket hat is a knock-off found in China. Is it bad that we want to buy this? It's actually pretty trendy, and Gucci should take notes for their future designs because this is what the people want.
It's everything the TikTok teens could dream of; it has the children's shows they grew up with, and it has a designer name on it so they can show off their wealth while they do the same four dances over and over. It is actually perfect besides the line running through the "G."
It's amazing how these stores will sell anything that has a logo resembling an actual brand. Although it says "The Huge Mountain," it still has the North Face logo, so they sell it as a fake. If it didn't have the three lines, it could pass as its own brand that just has similar styles to the North Face.
Unlike the North Face, the Huge Mountain smells like child labor and crowded factories. Even the woman in the background does not believe that any of this stuff is real. Also, these jackets won't keep you warm or dry like the real ones because they don't use the same fabric.
If Spongebob and The Minions had a cross-over movie or episode, that would be amazing. It is like combining the best cartoons from the current generation and the previous generation to unite us in the most hilarious cross-over. They would all start to look like Patrick because he would turn into their leader.
The creators couldn't get the rights to either toy, so they combined them to bend the rules, and it is actually something that people would want to buy. The Minions should be made into more popular cartoons like Rick and Morty or The Rugrats.
If you are a Game of Thrones fan, you will know that the books George RR Martin wrote were called A Song of Fire and Ice, which were adapted into the epic series on HBO. The owners of this Chinese restaurant must be big fans of the books because they took the name and added a fun twist.
Some of their specials include "Chop Suey is Coming," "Mother of Egg Rolls," and "Fried Rice & Fire." If they think that a clever name relating to the most popular show on TV is going to get them more customers, well, they are correct.
Pizza Hut is so overrated; the thing everyone wants is Pita Hut. People are trying to eat healthier, and pitas are probably better for you than greasy mall pizza. We have to know how this company got away with ripping Pizza Hut off right down to their logo.
This was taken in a mall food court, and we bet that there is also a Pizza Hut not too far from the Pita Hut. They must be competitors even though they sell completely different food. This chain probably didn't last long once Pizza Hut corporate got wind of it.
Microsoft better watch out because Michaelsoft Binbows is about to steal all of their competition. Where did these people come up with this name? Yes, it is a play on Microsoft Windows, but Michaelsoft, seriously? This is something Michael Scott would do to steal business from Microsoft.
How long do you think they got away with this until Microsoft found out and they had to change the name and logo. It is one thing to play with the name, and it is another thing to steal the company's name and logo. THeir product is probably much worse than the real software.
The only thing better than an Oreo is an Okidoki. Why would you want anything besides an Okidoki; it is so much more fun to say than Oreo. We can't guarantee it has the same delicious taste, but it does have two stuks of cookies in the container.
Whatever country this is from, they get an A+ for their creativity. These are much more exciting for children and adults of all ages. Wouldn't you automatically smile if someone offered you an Okidoki? We know we would.
Instead of calling them Minions like the true brand name, this company decided to use the characters and call them Despicable Men instead. That makes them sound much more devious than they actually are. Who would think that these little yellow creatures are despicable?
On the outside of the boxes, they even took actual pictures of the Minions, so all they really did was change the name. A child will probably never know the difference between the real and the fake, but it gave a few adults a good laugh when they passed it in a toy store.
Game Child must be the degenerate sibling of Game Boy. No one liked it, and it was always breaking and failing, so Game Boy became the popular version. The Game Boy is iconic, and this brand copied the device down to every button.
We get it, it's supposed to be a rip-off, but it is so apparent. What games do you think go with this? Super Plumber Brothers? Pokeman? No one would be surprised if they created parody versions of every single Game Boy game to go with the Game Child.
"Nobody's going to know. How would they know?" Those are the words these two pizza places said when they decided on their names. Adding a letter to the beginning or changing a letter in the middle is not going to disguise the fact that they stole the brand names.
Adomino and Pizza Hot, you are fooling no one with those rip-off names. Don't they know that people realize what they are doing? Could they not think of anything more creative than names and logos that have been used before?
We want to clarify that there is nothing wrong with being LGBTQIA+, but to write "Trans Boy" for a costume that is Transformers is a little problematic. It is obviously for young children, and they might get confused by this and not understand the real meaning of trans or transgender.
The customer could have been called the Bumblebee car or Robot car, but they chose Trans Boy instead. It was probably made in a foreign country, and the people mistranslated it, but they should have someone check that.
For some reason, this knock-off version of It looks ten times scarier than the original version. Instead of a clown, That features a giant swamp monster that terrorizes a little girl by luring her into the sewer with a red balloon. It is half taken from the original plot.
The follow-up sequels to That are These and Those. That dang swamp monster is relentless when it comes to terrorizing the children in the neighborhood, and they never seem to learn from people's past mistakes.
Ah, yes. The Big Bong Theory is our favorite show starring the annoying indoor dweeb, the annoying outdoor dweeb, and his other dweeb friends. Why would they choose the word dweeb over something like nerd? The group is literally described as a bunch of nerds.
In all fairness, "annoying indoor dweeb" perfectly sums up Sheldon Cooper. However, that description could also be used to describe 90 percent of Reddit users, so it is not very specific. The generic nerd mask could be anyone you know.
You might think this is a regular old laundry mat, but it is actually the secret Avengers headquarters. They thought they disguised it well by calling it infinity wash, but people can see right through their silly tricks. There is no way Thor is not hiding below ground, using his powers to power the place.
Iron Man helped build this, and he made it the most hi-tech laundry mat that town has ever seen. Sometimes the clothes will come out sticky because Spiderman can't keep his webs to himself, but they wash off with bleach.
Winnie the Pooh is supposed to be a cute children's cartoon character, but this version is all kinds of creepy. Why is he eating a jar of white stuff? Everyone knows that Winnie the Pooh loves honey. Also, he looks like he is going to hurt children rather than be a friendly companion.
We surely hope that is just marshmallow fluff because that is the only thing comparably sweet to Honey. This version of Pooh needs to be burned with fire before it starts haunting all the little children of the world.
If Toy Story and Transformers had a crossover movie, we are sure it wouldn't be called "Boy Deformation. That sounds like it would be a depressing movie and not something Disney or Pixar would want to be apart of.
If Woody could transform into a car, we doubt it would be this orange sports car. Since he is a cowboy, he would probably transform into something more rugged or a horse and buggy. These people are very creative; we will give them that.
If this isn't the pinnacle of Shanghai markets, we don't know what is. The manufacturer couldn't even make something that used an iron-on or stitching. It looks like a child had some extra hot glue and created this knock-off Yankees hat.
This is something that would be in a 5 Minute Crafts video. "Don't have money for a Yankees hat? Hot glue the logo onto a dollar store hat and no one will ever know the difference." We can only imagine how much they tried to sell this for just because it had the logo on it.
This one needs little to no explanation, but we would feel awfully uncomfortable going to this bar. We can imagine that nothing good happens when you spend an evening drinking at the Horn Pub. However, they do have clever marketing.
Whoever thought to name the bar Horn Pub had something else on their mind, and they thought no one would notice where they stole the logo and name from. There's a high chance that someone read this as the original name of the website it is based on.
If you didn't know, Sony trademarked the symbols on their Playstation controllers, so when other companies try to make the same controller, they have to be creative with the button symbols. Instead of picking letters, this controller has the name for each symbol.
That might be a little confusing when people are trying to read the buttons in the middle of a video game. Unless the person is used to the Sony controller and knows where all the buttons are without looking, this is going to be more challenging to use.
We have one question; who hurt these ponies? They look so terrified, and not in a cute way. These are the ponies that lost their innocence when they saw something through their box. We hope they can recover from this trauma.
These fashion horses might be rip-offs of My Little Pony, but they are not as cute and happy and the original characters. Why would they create such sad-looking toys for children? It will scare them during playtime.
We didn't know Seinfeld was about a rock band, and neither did this t-shirt manufacturer. Whoever made this has never heard of Seinfeld or Nirvana because these two things do not go together at all, yet here they are on a shirt.
It looks like a shirt for babies; therefore, the baby won't know what is on its clothing, but other parents will question your child's knowledge of music and TV. Does anyone want that for their baby? We are going to guess the answer is no.
That Pizza Hat character looks like it is waiting for the perfect moment to steal the delicious pizza just like the store stole Pizza Hut's name. They should call him the Pizza Bandit, and if you don't buy two or more pizza's he will come and steal your children. We hear the scare tactic works in sales (joking of course).
Do you think all of these rip-off Pizza Hut places get sued by the company for copying their branding and logo? Or is a single letter change enough to get away with this? We would love to know because there are so many more letters to use to make it a different name.
If you walked past this store, you would think that it was a legit Apple-certified dealer, right? Not only can you buy a trustworthy Apple phone, but you can also get sub-par pizza while you wait for your phone to be set up.
Who would have thought to combine pizza and phones into one restaurant? These people definitely know how to attract customers, but we doubt they are selling too many phones. These are probably the kind of phones that fell off a truck somewhere and explode if you have too many tabs open.
We can't tell if this is Lord of the Rings or a Star Wars rip-off, but it looks like the action figure is from one movie while the packaging is from another. The manufacturer couldn't decide between the two films, so they made a cross-over toy.
The Stormtrooper is dressed like a Jedi, but it is carrying the sword incorrectly. If you ever plan to carry a sword, make sure it is by the handle, and you aren't holding the blade. Most people already know this, but the toy says otherwise.
The name wouldn't be as bad without the drawing of the little boy, but this is rather creepy. We don't know if we just have a messed up brain or you are thinking the same thing as us, but the ToyPedo is not something our children will be playing with.
Why does the little boy look scared instead of happy that he is playing with a toy? We saw these as children, and they would fly through the water, but they were not marketed or colored like this. It's a bit strange, but the creators weren't thinking about these things.
We are almost certain that the red bird from Angry Birds is just called Red. They must be confused with the grumpy cat named Garfield. Both characters are moody, but they are not the same species or color, so we don't know how they got this confused.
Instead of saying "I hate Mondays," the Angry Garfield Bird would say, "I hate Tuesdays" because it is just slightly different than the original. Red must have defeated Garfield in the video game, so he replace the cat on the sweater vest.
This version of Snow White and the Seven Clever Boys is going to give us nightmares for the rest of our lives, so we hope you aren't traumatized too much. Maybe the witch wasn't wrong to poison Snow White if she looked as scary as this.
Even the "Clever Boys" look like they are going to crawl out of the screen and drag you to your death. Whoever thought this game would be appropriate for ages three and up was wrong. Three-year-olds would be traumatized by these creepy characters.
Who knew that Spiderman was a singer and had his own version of The Voice? We don't understand how these two things go together, but someone in a factory thought this would sell, and it probably interested at least a handful of people.
Even if people didn't understand the combination of things, they probably bought these as a gag gift because it is ridiculous. The Spiderman hand with the microphone is what interested us. We would get these just because we would love to see Spiderman sing.
Instead of AirPods, you can get KiaPods that only connect to the Kia Soul. They would advertise these by bringing back the dancing hamsters, and they would all be wearing the KiaPods and jamming out to the hits from 2009 when that commercial was popular.
These are probably the worst Bluetooth headphones you could purchase, but for a bargain price, anyone would debate purchasing them. How much do you think these were on sale for, and did Kia get any of the profits?