Kevin Butler, the persona behind one of PlayStation’s rare successful advertising campaigns, has jumped ship and is advertising the Nintendo Wii. - PSLS
Kevin Butler's advertising campaign did many things right, from properly advertising the products at hand to poking a bit of fun at not only other companies, but Sony themselves, but most importantly, he advocated for a rare but key belief: Unity amongst gamers.
Wii sold more than PS3. With Wii sales number even Kevin Butler can't resist it. XD
Why the hell did Sony cut this guy loose is beyond me...he was hilarious, fun to watch and I was always looking forward for more, aka perfect!
Imagine him unboxing PSVR or doing lets plays and taking jabs at the competition. They should get him back and give him a weekly show.
Btw why did he leave in the first place?
I'd love to see him do a PSVR commercial. He even made Move look good.
I don't think he actually left. I think the campaign had finished, or Sony moved on. He was just an actor playing a part. Could have potentially been more ads with him, and I would have loved to see him during the PS4 reveal. However, I think with the whole tire ad promoting a WiiU debacle, Sony cut him loose, or he decided it best to not work for them anymore. Or maybe it was never a consideration to bring him back.
I sometimes wonder if they'd work together again though. Would be an awesome come back if done right.
I dunno, maybe that's a petition us gamers should actually get behind.:)
Commercials that actually made my day when I saw a new one release. Who the hell ANTICIPATES and is happy to see ads excitedly? Anyone, who loves Kevin Butler.
-sees MAG in the distance-
The feels...........the feels are all coming back :[
Digibytes writer Christopher Pascarelli, takes look into the Sony Playstation 3 Kevin butler ads, or the dear Playstation ads, and why they are so successful
I think the "Wii would like to play" ads were, by far, the best advertisements the industry has created. It was just the perfect messaging for Nintendo to reach out to that new demographic of "everyone else in the world." Looking at Nintendo's current advertisements for the WiiU (which I didn't even know existed until I saw one on Youtube) it's really hard to understand how they went from one of the best campaigns to... crap in just a few years.
Beyond that, the only other older ads that really stick in my mind are those that were specific to games. I remember always getting excited when the ad for Final Fantasy X would be on TV, but these days--aside from the odd COD or Halo--it doesn't seem like individual games get that much advertising outside the Internet.
Sony has settled its dispute with Kevin Butler actor Jerry Lambert over is appearance in a Bridgestone tyre advert.
"and he admitted confusion was created in the minds of some consumers who believed he was playing Kevin Butler in the Bridgestone ads."
Gee, I wonder why...
http://www.google.com/searc...
Seriously most people knew he wasn't playing Kevin Butler in the tyre ad.
Clue 1: He never once referred to himself as "Kevin Butler" like he always usually did in the Sony ads.
Clue 2: He wasn't in a Sony ad at the time, lol.
This is more to do wit brand recognition, Jerry Lamberts alter ego Kevin Butler has become so synonymous with the Sony brand, seeing him promoting any other console makes some people feel like his character is endorsing a competing product.
True but they could at least made him look a little different...it's like they didn't even try.
Different colour hair, a wig, some glasses, facial features etc....but no he looked like himself and over the years with Sony himself is basically Kevin Butler.
Similar attitude, similar attire, playing video game.....yeah, how could ANYONE confuse him with his other character? /s
The issue here is that it was Lambert's LIKENESS that is associated with his character. When you see him wearing that exact same outfit, same haircut, playing videogames, the association is there.
Bridgestone went to Lambert's marketing company to create its Wii commercial, and instead of just letting others do the commercial, he's such an attention spotlight whore he couldn't bare to not be on TV. Any dumbass who runs a marketing company knows how companies write up their contracts, and knows that companies don't want you promoting competitor products. It would be as if someone stole the Geiko lizard's likeness and British accent, and called it the "Manulife lizard" to make Manulife commercials. It's just the dumbest thing you can do, and shows Kevin Lambert only has loyalty to himself, and getting yourself recognized at opportunity no matter what the cost.
im more sad not seeing kevin butler commercials, this guy was good, and was awesome at doing it.
@ Root
So every other personality must now put on a wig and hide their true features based on their previous work holding some kind of right to his likeness?
That idea is just asinine.
So what most of you are saying is, Jerry Lambert is not allowed to appear in any ads endorsing products other than that of Sony because he looks like the character he plays (Kevin Butler) and that confuses you?
This is all about brand recognition, Sony is worried that people seeing Lambert in ads endorsing a competitors product will help increase the potential sales of that product, because the sheer popularity of Kevin Butler works as some kind of "seal of approval" as far as certain gamers are concerned.
I do understand why this lawsuit happened, but I still think it's pretty stupid that company's have so little faith in us, believing that we're going to think Butler is plugging the Wii now... smh.
Of course Lambert knows he was wrong. The way the internet blew up with 'Kevin Butler has a Wii in a Bridgestone commercial', that was all Sony needed right there. Tell the judge to hit google, see everyone using the Kevin Butler name as proof of brand confusion and bang, case closed.
Just glad they settled and can move on. No Jerry Lambert video game hocking for 2 more years as per the settlement. Admits he did it while still under a Sony contract. The fact people argued this on here made me lose brain cells from facepalming. LOL how Bridgestone said they never used Lambert in a commercial. Do they not realise people saw it and took rips and pics of it before they had a chance to pull it, lol?
It was pretty obvious that this would happen, I'm honestly surprised they didn't think about it in the development of the commercial. Maybe Bridgestone paid him enough that he didn't care.
One thing that isn't touched upon is, the might of billion dollar companies going after you with their own legal department will break any small company.
Why do you think Bridgestone isn't settling, but a small guy like Kevin Butler (Lambert) would? Because the legal cost would probably bankrupt his company!
Legal cost is at the point where most people can't fight it without loosing in some other way despite a win. What we need is a system where the losing party pays all court costs by default. That will curtail a lot of frivolous lawsuits.
I agree but what if the loser is the one who doesn't have the money in the first place but felt his rights were still violated?
You have a valid point. However, the law should protect the most people, not the few.
In your case though, if the person didn't have the money there is *still* no money to get. The winner is still the victim, just like it is now because the looser can't pay up anyhow.
However, this would essentially kill lawyers that can essentially bankrupt you armed with only a postage stamp.
I also want to point out that lawsuits also has some good things, such as the attention to detail American companies will go to ensure safety that in many other modern western countries don't exist.
There just needs to be a better balance.
Doesn't help that 99% of people don't even know his real name. EVERY article refers to him as Kevin Butler whereas they should read 'Jerry Lambert settles...'
It would be like Jake Gyllenhaal being referred to as Donnie Darko in a news article...stupid if you think about it.
So if Sony gets someone that looks like Jerry to play Kevin Butler, can Jerry sue Sony for using his likeness without his consent?
Yes, if he invented the character, no if the other actor merely plays a character he didn't invent (Kevin Butler with his own "spin" on the character) and yes if he's a personality and the character uses something that is specifically "Lambert", because it violates his right of publicity; even if it's a fictional character, if it looks and acts like Lambert when he was playing Butler violates his right of publicity, even if it's another actor or an animated character if I'm not mistaken.
So actually, if you want to split hairs:
Let's say Lambert wanted to sue Valve over Cave Johnson's likeness to Kevin Butler, but I think Lambert's too cool to do something like that, he might lose, because although Cave is similar to Kevin, Cave's voice isn't using Lambert's specific voice and the name isn't the same, plus there is no physical likeness that can be connected to CJ but in the mind of the listener. If Valve used even one actual word from Lambert they would be liable.
BUT the right of publicity extends to anything, not just a name or likeness, that evokes the identity of a famous person.
The court would have to decide if Valve used enough of Lambert's interpretation of what KB should be in CJ that would invoke Lambert's Kevin Butler for Lambert to win the case.
Now, if Cave was over a game company, or he looked like the character KB, or if the character sounded a lot like Lambert's rendition of KB, or if he used enough quips similar to KB to invoke Lambert's image, Valve would be liable because it violates Lambert's right of publicity.
See Wendt v. Host International and White v. Samsung Electronics for examples.
So will he be back to Sony for the PS4 marketing
I say bring him back and make an advert taking the mic out of all this.....laugh it off
I sued a guy after he causes an accident. We ended up settling out of court. Do you really think me and him would ever be friends?
Lambert is done with SONY. Forever.
Thank goodness! Now I can finally get some good sleep tonight.
Unless, of course, there's a "Kevin Butler is Doomed" article on the horizon...
Thank god this Sony Vs. Bridgestone law suit is over. I was getting TIRED from reading all the articles about it. HAHAH-yeah I know it's not good what do you want from me.
I stayed up till 4am, i got nothing (,_, )
Side note: I bought 6 bridgestone tires after seeing that ad. That Kevin Butler is good. He got me :(
Its a Good Year now that Jery Lambert TIRED to settle this once and for all.
Come back VP Kevin Butler. We miss you.
So that's where he's been.
Edit: Hahahaha, awesome picture!
:'(
Kevin Butler why?
:(
good commercial tho, as always with him
I wonder how much they paid him.
Now I want him in PS all stars so I can take him down.