Elginer
Member
Exactly. Fucking hell, if this is true then I expect people to believe that Christian Bale is really mofo Batman. Not an actor playing a role.
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SCEA sues Bridgestone and Jerry Lambert (Kevin Butler actor) over Game On promotion
- Thread starter Takao
- Start date
Exactly. Fucking hell, if this is true then I expect people to believe that Christian Bale is really mofo Batman. Not an actor playing a role.
OldJadedGamer
Banned
Bridgestone is not a competitor to Sony.
Ah, there it is. Wasn't there when I loaded it or I forgot to do a total refresh
Squirrel Killer
Member
Okay, I haven't been following this with the fervor of some of you, so I don't know if these two things have been mentioned before, but...
- The case will not be settled or announced as ongoing by Oct 12, the motion for expedited discovery will. Big difference.
- Wildcat Creek has no web site that I can find and, based on publicly available documents, is located in a residential neighborhood at a perfectly ordinary looking residential house. If I had to guess, Wildcat Creek isn't "responsible for the ad," it's probably just a company Lambert has set up for tax purposes instead of being paid for his acting services directly.
Sickboy007
Member
I'm guessing not, since they filed on trademark grounds.
Will update then, thanks.
Hazelhurst
Member
It's more than likely he can't promote any other competing video game product for a specified period of time.
T
thepotatoman
Unconfirmed Member
Its marketing. Marketing which companies spend millions and millions of dollars every year because its worth. Even though every person in the world knows what Coke and Pepsi is and how much they like it, Coke and Pepsi still advertise the hell out of their products.
That's because marketing doesn't care about appealing to reason and logic, it appeals to emotion and brand recognition. Sure probably everyone knows that Jerry Lambert is just an actor and he's still just an actor if he promotes the Wii or the PS3. But the problem is that when he does promote the Wii then the emotional appeal to brand recognition of the Kevin Butler character goes away, and it forces the logical thought of viewing him as just an actor.
So yes it does create "market confusion" in the subconscious emotional area of your brain, and that is exactly the area that these ad companies spend crazy amounts of money to effect.
Metalmurphy
Member
Yes, lets everyone pretend Nintendo wasn't in anyway involved. It's not like they need to have an agreement/license to use their console/games in the ad or anything like that.
lol
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=485754
OldJadedGamer
Banned
Kaz himself has said that Nintendo isn't a competitor.
lunchwithyuzo
Banned
Before that statement, there was no indication of breach of contract anywhere. And the actual language of the suit seems to go for a different approach entirely (trademark infringement), meaning even if there was a legitimate breach, Sony doesn't feel they could win on those grounds chiefly.
Metalmurphy
Member
Oh, so you weren't being serious. Ok.
MaxwellGT2000
Member
So the lawsuit is on the grounds of trademark of the Kevin Butler character... he doesn't show up as Kevin Butler in these commercials, he's that Bridgestone guy now... the fuck is wrong with Sony. -_-
Mama Robotnik
Member
Guys, you disagree with my post so severely that whole responses are not needed. I get that. its great, different opinions make the world a better place. I'd prefer you to dismantle my arguments and offer counterpoints, rather than effortless condescending utterances that contribute less than nothing to the discourse, but good on you for having an opinion - minimal though it is.
Two questions:
(1) Can I actually be an anti-fanboy? As in, I'm not a fanboy to a company, but a fanboy to opposing the company? I didn't realise that this is how the term "fanboy" worked so thanks for the education. I guess me owning and regularly playing on my PS3 (currently SOTC HD) and PSP (Puyo Pop Fever!) is some sort of statistical fluke.
(2) Can you please share your inside information as to why Mr Lambert "should have known better" and the precise terms of his contact that he broke? You are of course, so certain, that I'd love to see the info.
Here's me calling out Nintendo and Microsoft too if that is relevant to your link.
what trademark? Sony doesn't own Jerry Lambert. Are they going to retroactively sue him and every other company he's done a commercial for? I'm curious as to the terms of the contract or trademark. In a way, they are almost arguing that they couldn't replace Lambert with another actor to play Kevin Butler either.
If Lambert has competent legal counsel, this won't go anywhere.
What makes Sony think the Bridgestone commercial is an appearance of the Kevin Butler character, rather than just the actor? Is he presented as a vice president of anything? is he wearing the same clothes that he wears in the Kevin Butler commercials? Is he displaying the same personality traits?
This is patently absurd. It's like if George Lucas sued Mark Hamill for appearing in a Star Trek episode.
What makes Sony think the Bridgestone commercial is an appearance of the Kevin Butler character, rather than just the actor? Is he presented as a vice president of anything? is he wearing the same clothes that he wears in the Kevin Butler commercials? Is he displaying the same personality traits?
This is patently absurd. It's like if George Lucas sued Mark Hamill for appearing in a Star Trek episode.
Holy shit. How did I missed this gem.
The guy has some serious problem with Sony. :lol
If Nintendo really signed on to this Bridgestone promotion, solely or even primarily to exploit a commercial actor's previous relationship with a competitor, thats really really dumb
Metalmurphy
Member
He didn't say you were an anti-fanboy. He said Anti-Sony.
Where's your dedicated thread with over 30 quotes that probably took your sweet time to gather for the other two?
Well Nintendo might not have known the full details, but they surely had to allow it.
Correct, Wii is only being mentionated because Bridgestone promotion, but it's not an ad about Mario Kart neither Wii, in which case Sony would be more ground for a sue.
Somebody needs to dig up that old case where Midway sued the original Johnny Cage for promoting another game. Maybe there is a precedent here, although it wouldn't be directly analogous
I'm sure they'd have to approve any ad or promotion their products are featured in, if anything, they probably thought it was funny, but I doubt Jerry Lambert had anything to do with their decision for the promotion.
Acquiescence
Member
I don't disagree with your post; I too think it's petty, yet highly amusing, that Sony have taken legal action over this Bridgestone advert. It's just the melodramatic tone of your post that I find wholly embarrassing. Being so emotionally-invested in a corporation's legal proceedings is just shudder-inducing.
How it took 13 pages for that thread to get locked astounds me, considering anyone with a semblance of sanity would've known straight off how it would turn out.
Mama Robotnik
Member
We're veering away from the topic a bit too much but (1) the thread in question was quick and easy to compose - as the cited links show most of the work was already done for me; and (2) I couldn't find that many quotes of such quality for MS/Nintendo, at least not easily. Either those companies are less arrogant. a shocking possibility I know, or their comparable comments are much harder to find at least in my experience. But feel free to prove me wrong, and I'll gladly concede the point Metalmurphy.
Back on topic - is there any precedent to what Sony are doing? Its the first time I've heard of a legal action like this.
I doubt Microsoft and Nintendo combined have said even half as much stupid shit as Sony has this generation.
Metalmurphy
Member
They said their fair share even if not as much.
Man, this is just . . . man. This probably ends with Lambert being removed from the ad and nothing more, but what a waste of time and money. It's a tire commercial. Lambert has been in a ton of those Bridgestone commercials over the last few years. I can't believe someone at Sony pulled the trigger on this lawsuit.
lunchwithyuzo
Banned
I do wonder what sort of bad blood this might cause. Will Lambert prevent Sony's use of his likeness in the future? Can they re-air ads or portions of ads beyond what was explicitly stated in the previous contracts without his consent?
As said earlier too, the attention may also draw interest from PlayStation's actual competitors. If Microsoft goes for a Lambert campaign, I wonder how eager Sony would be to challenge their formidable legal department?
Metalmurphy
Member
Just read about this. Turns out it was actually Pesina that sued Midway but over something completely different (he wanted more money). His not so detailed contract allowed him to do the ads without problems, but ofc, Midway didn't hire him again.
( http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/7/12/3121233/johnny-cage-20-years-later )
Canis lupus
Member
Failing brand?
OldJadedGamer
Banned
The Kevin Butler campaign is as good as dead.
Melchiah
Member
lunchwithyuzo
Banned
Keep reading the thread, I already answered your question.
Haunted
Member
He looks and sounds like exactly like him.
Maybe because it's the same friggin actor, maybe.
Metalmurphy
Member
Melchiah
Member
With a bunch of guesses.
Haunted
Member
The similarities are simply too large to ignore. Here's a visual help, observe:
SONY's beloved "Kevin Butler" persona:
Bridgestone's poorly imitated ripoff trying to cash in on SONY's property:
It's shameless how another company can steal something SONY created and expect to get away with it.
metalslimer
Member
Pretty sure that was sarcasm. Sony's stupidity never ceases so this kind of shit doesn't surprise me.
Haunted
Member
<3
Kazuma Kiryu
Member
ah, good old neogaf. having no clue about the guy's contract with sony or anything else involved for that matter and yet everyone's picking up the pitchforks. i love you guys.
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