“If you don’t like our wings, we’ll give you the bird” (Pluckers)
“If you don’t like our wings, we’ll give you the bird” is the slogan of Pluckers, a chicken wing restaurant that was originated by University of Texas at Austin students in 1995. The Pluckers website doesn’t make clear if a customer who doesn’t like their wings gets more chicken or an obscene salute.
Pluckers: Our Company
The idea for Pluckers was hatched in the dorm room of two UT freshman (sic) in 1991. Dave & Mark realized that Austin was badly in need of a good “wings” restaurant that offered dine-in, take-out & delivery services.
They decided if no one else had the pluck to do it, then they would have to take matters into their own hands & develop the concept themselves.
Over the next four years, sauces were tested, loans arranged, and, in the summer of 1995, MD Pluckers Wing Factory & Grill was finally opened.
Now, as we continue to spread out wings across America, we still hold true to the spirit upon which Pluckers was founded: To offer a unique & relaxed fun restaurant experience that not only satisfies, but delights both hard-core “wing nuts” & the casual dining guest.
Our Motherplucking Blog
The Story Of Pluckers, Part 2
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So we had our name, Foghorn as our logo and it was time for us to come up with a slogan. I remember that I was pushing for “Chicken is Chicken, but the Wing is the Thing”. Mark thought that was only average, but neither of us could think of anything better. So we went to our mothers for help. In case you haven’t ever met either of our mothers, you need to know three things about them. First, they are Jewish mothers. Second, they think that their creative genius is a very close second to the likes of Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Richard Pryor. And finally, even if they have little to no knowledge at all on a particular subject, they think they are always right.
However, this time I think going to my mom for help actually paid off. For twelve years my mom contradicts this story, but I swear it to be the truth. I was on the phone with her throwing around slogan ideas and told her we wanted people to remember our restaurant in the future. There was a restaurant in Destin, Florida called Fudpuckers that had a great slogan “You ain’t been Pucked, til’ you been Fudpucked”. I wanted something like that, catchy and irreverent. So we started playing on words that rhymed with Pluckers (you can come up with a few of them yourself) and finally I think she said “If you don’t like our chicken, we’ll shoot you a bird!” I liked that and after a few minutes I tried morphing it into “If you don’t like our wings, we’ll give you the bird!”
Now she claims that she came up with the slogan we have been using for 12 years, but that is not the way I remember it. I could be wrong, but if you reference the above three rules related to our mothers, you will see that I have a legitimate argument.
I ran the idea by Mark and some friends and everyone loved it. The first unveiling of the new name, slogan and logo officially went out at Chili Cookoff our senior year. I can’t even remember who designed the shirts, but to this day, they are the best shirts we have ever made. I think there are only about 3 of those shirts left in the world, so if you have one, keep it as it may be worth something one day. It was simple….Foghorn Leghorn shooting a bird and saying “If you don’t like our wings, we’ll give you the Bird!” I think we printed about 100 of these shirts and handed them out to every hottie we knew on campus and some of our friends as well. Within minutes of the Chili Cookoff starting, the delicious smell of our wings and the harem of beautiful UT coeds had our booth hopping. Everyone wanted to know when the restaurant was opening. The only thing was, first we had to graduate…
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From: T3LN3T P1MP
Date: 1998/08/08
Subject: Re: Wings- the buffalo kind..
If you like them EXTREMELY hot, like so hot you eat one or two then pause for an hour to recover, there is a place in Austin called “Pluckers” where their motto is “If you don’t like our wings, we’ll give you the bird!” Just go their and order some “En Fuego” style wings. Order a LARGE water with no ice for that one.. takes a while to get a refill. 😊
Quoteland
Grinchman042
posted 11-09-05 07:02 PM
One of my favorites, from Plucker’s, a wing delivery chain:
“If you don’t like our wings, we’ll give you the bird.”
(Trademark)
Word Mark PLUCKERS
Goods and Services IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S: Paper and printed goods, namely, menus and gift certificates; newsletters in the field of restaurant services. FIRST USE: 19950723. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19950723
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 78701350
Filing Date August 26, 2005
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition June 13, 2006
Registration Number 3138665
Registration Date September 5, 2006
Owner (REGISTRANT) MDS Wings, LP Hook’em Wings, LLC, organized under the laws of the State of Texas LIMITED PARTNERSHIP TEXAS #120A 8303 North Mo Pac Expressway Austin TEXAS 787598395
Attorney of Record Robert A. Rosenbloum, Esq.
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
(Trademark)
Word Mark MD PLUCKERS
Goods and Services IC 042. US 100 101. G & S: Restaurant and bar services. FIRST USE: 20000723. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20000723
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 75671317
Filing Date March 29, 1999
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1B
Published for Opposition February 22, 2000
Registration Number 2483131
Registration Date August 28, 2001
Owner (REGISTRANT) Pluckers Wing Factory L.P. Pluckers, Inc., a Texas corporation LIMITED PARTNERSHIP TEXAS 8303 North Mo Pac Expressway Ste A-120 Austin TEXAS 78759
Attorney of Record ROBERT A. ROSENBLOUM
Prior Registrations 1984335
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR).
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
(Trademark)
Word Mark IF YOU DON’T LIKE OUR WINGS, WE’LL GIVE YOU THE BIRD
Goods and Services IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S: Printed paper products, namely, menus, newsletters in the field of restaurant services, and gift certificates. FIRST USE: 19950723. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19950723
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 78701413
Filing Date August 26, 2005
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition January 16, 2007
Registration Number 3224125
Registration Date April 3, 2007
Owner (REGISTRANT) MDS Wings, LP Hook’em Wings, LLC, organized under the laws of the State of Texas, and Mark S. Greenberg, Sean D. Greenberg, and David A. Paul, all U.S. citizens LIMITED PARTNERSHIP TEXAS #120A 8303 North Mo Pac Expressway Austin TEXAS 787598395
Attorney of Record Robert A. Rosenbloum, Esq.
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE