Zippo Get Its Signature 'Click' as a Sound Trademark

With electric vehicles now circulating silently in the roads, brands will need to trademark their iconic engine sounds (e.g. the sound of a Porsche or a Ford Mustang engine) as a way to simultaneously comply with safety requirements and convey a familiar sense of excitement to drivers. When a sound is immediately recognized as part of a brand or iconic product it should be trademarked and protected and that's exactly what iconic windproof lighter Zippo achieved. The Zippo lighter's 'click' is now officially among the most recognizable sounds in the world and is protected by a sound trademark.
 
Granted first in the United States, with other markets set to follow, the trademark has been awarded in recognition of Zippo's careful manufacturing process which produces the highly distinctive sound, synonymous with the windproof lighter. It joins an exclusive line-up of other trademarked sounds including The Hunger Games' Mockingjay Whistle, the famed MGM Lion roar, or the THX sound effect, among many others.

Zippo is a classic American brand, and now it is also a sound trademark. Having infiltrated pop culture for over eight decades, appearing in over 2,000 movies, countless music videos, and held high at festivals and concerts, the Zippo lighter has won the hearts and minds of people the world over.
 
To celebrate the sonic signature and diverse sensory experience of the Zippo lighter, the brand has curated an ASMR lighter collection, which explores the phenomenon of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) with exclusive videos unveiling the iconic windproof lighter as the ultimate trigger. Characterized by soothing sounds and visuals, ASMR content has taken the world by storm, with YouTube inundated by videos of sensory evoking sounds. From recordings of whispering voices and the heightened audio of everyday objects, to spine tingling ice crushing and stroking of fluffy pillows. Fans and collectors of the Zippo lighter have long realized the irresistible satisfaction of flicking open the lid and firing up the windproof flame.
 
"People have recognized the unmistakable 'click' of a Zippo lighter for decades, and now new research has revealed that over three quarters of adults would instantly be able to place the sound. It's an exciting time for the business to be granted this trademark in acknowledgment of our sonic signature," says Lucas Johnson, Senior Brand Manager, Global Marketing at Zippo.
www.zippo.com