'Friday Night Lights' Creator Requests Romney Cease And Desist Use Of 'Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose'

By Eric Brown | October 12 2012 8:35 PM

During the past few months of his presidential-election campaign, Republican candidate Mitt Romney has employed the catchphrase “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose,” which is associated with the television series “Friday Night Lights.”

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Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, left, pictured with GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, has been requested to cease and desist his employment of the catchphrase “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose” associated with the television series “Friday Night Lights” by the series' creator.

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On Friday, Peter Berg, who created the TV series based on H. G. Bissinger's eponymous book, sent Romney a letter requesting that he cease and desist his use of the catchphrase.

Romney doesn’t just use the “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose” catchphrase in his campaign speeches, either. At the time Berg sent his letter, Romney’s official campaign Facebook page had the phrase as a header image, effectively turning it into a second campaign slogan for Romney. And Berg was sick of it.

In an exclusive, the Hollywood Reporter managed to obtain an exclusive copy of the letter sent to Romney in care of his campaign, and while it isn’t as strongly worded as some might anticipate, it leaves no doubt that Berg is displeased with Romney’s appropriate of the catchphrase.

“I created the TV show ‘Friday Night Lights’ and came up with the phrase, ‘Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose,’” Berg wrote. “I was not thrilled when I saw that you have plagiarized this expression to support your campaign by using it on posters, your Facebook page, and as part of your stump speeches. Your politics and campaign are clearly not in line with the themes we portrayed on our series.”

Berg continues: “Your use of the expression falsely and inappropriately associates ‘Friday Night Lights’ with the Romney/Ryan campaign. ... We are grateful for your support of our beloved show, but we are not in any way affiliated with you or your campaign. Please come up with your own campaign slogan.”

No response has come from the Romney camp yet, but, in the past, when other artists have requested that the candidate stop using their work as campaign fodder, Romney has played ball. Presumably, he’ll do the same thing in this case.

Watch a video of Romney quoting the “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose” catch phrase from “Friday Night Lights” below.