Law Label - Popular Culture

Popular Culture

The wording of the warnings printed on some law labels has caused a common misconception in the USA that removing such a label under any circumstance is a crime, prohibiting consumers from removing labels from items they have purchased. Especially contributing to this confusion was that originally, the wording on such labels did not contain the phrase "except by consumer". This draconian interpretation is commonly lampooned. Pee-wee's Big Adventure and the "Wanted: Wade" episode of Garfield and Friends feature characters who are harshly punished for removing a law label. In addition, in one episode of the popular 1970s show, Sanford and Son, Fred finds a tag with the warning label on and misjudges it to mean that if it is removed, he could go to jail. He tears it up and exclaims "power to the people!" This was before the words "...except by consumer" were added. Even the mattress company Serta created a commercial where its famous counting sheep were thrown in jail for tearing off of the law label after the mattress's owner said she didn't need them anymore.