Sony suing Bridgestone over Kevin Butler's Wii-related commercial?

Things are getting really weird with Bridgestone's recent Wii-related commercial. It all started when Kevin Butler was spotted in the company's "Game On" promotion featuring the Wii. It didn't take long for an updated TV spot to be released, this time featuring a new actor.

[zdkapl]

That would be both funny and awful if this is actually happening.

[guitarded77]

It broke my heart when I saw the commercial on TV. I was like "KB sold out" :(, then I was like "Damn you Sony, why didn't y'all keep KB"!

[knowyourstuff]

Lawyers are to blame for crap like this. Sony thinks they can trademark Lambert's likeness as "Kevin Butler", which is nonsense since it would prevent him from working for anyone else. Sony can't do that unless there is a non-compete clause in Lambert's contract.

Sony has also been doing huge cutbacks to remain profitable. Lets just say Kevin got a pay cut and he quit, while Sony's executives running the company into the floor are getting bonused all day long.

[Nimblest-Assassin]

Well this is happening, and honestly, Sony should cancel this lawsuit, because it is ridiculous

They own the character "Kevin Butler" not the man Jerry Lambert

He can act in whatever he wants to act in... Sony doesn't own him, unless this commercial is a breech of terms with Jerry

All in all, this is a stupid ass decision from sony

http://dockets.justia.com/d...

http://docs.justia.com/case...

^

Those are the actual documents, proving this is a real thing

[alien626]

its more of he could work for bridgestone but Jerry Lambert is still under contract with sony in which he cant be promoting other systems other than sony. Bridgestone is the fault for not thinking that. BTW people dont get mad they not suing Jerry Lambert(Kevin Butler) they are suing Bridgestone.

[Blankman85]

Actually they are suing Bridgestone and Wildcat Creek Inc, which happens to be presidented(is that a word?) by Jerry Lambert.

[-Alpha]

@alien

Not sure if this is true, but:

" Not only are they suing Bridgestone for the commercial, they're also suing Wildcat Creek, Inc.

Who are they? Well, evidently they're the advertising company hired by Bridgestone for the commercial. According to this their president is none other than Jerry Lambert."

From the Neogaf thread

[nukeitall]

knowyourstuff:

"Sony can't do that unless there is a non-compete clause in Lambert's contract."

None compete clauses are often impossible to enforce, due to it in fact bars people from using their trade to earn money.

By the way, that is a good thing!

[MAJ0R]

inb4 Sony gets hacked again

[BrianC6234]

"Lawyers are to blame for crap like this. Sony thinks they can trademark Lambert's likeness as "Kevin Butler", which is nonsense since it would prevent him from working for anyone else. Sony can't do that unless there is a non-compete clause in Lambert's contract."

I never saw the commercial. Did he use the Kevin Butler name and dress like him? If so I'm sure Sony would have a reason for suing. He'd have to at least not pretend to be the same character.

[Cupid_Viper_3]

Wow, the amount of people talking about things that they don't understand here is staggering.

Guys....when an actor signs a commercial contract to represent a certain company, there is always a clause that states that said actor CANNOT EVER feature in any commercial work representing a competitor, it is a breach of contract.

Lebron is under Contract with Nike, hence can never appear in a commercial for Adidas, or Reebok, or Under Armour. Same thing for Messi as he is under contract with Adidas, therefore cannot feature in Nike commercials even though Barcelona, the club he plays for is sponsored by Nike. Any breach of those contract term is subject to legal action.

The purpose of commercials in the first place is build a certain perception, and actors/mascots are spokesperson for those companies. that's why they put these actors under a contract, meaning that you get paid specifically not to work for the competitor.

A company cannot afford to be publicly sponsoring you, and have you as a downloadable character in one their biggest franchises, while you're also pushing commercials for their direct competitor........I don't a single company that would allow that. And as much as I like Lambert, as an actor, he would be well aware of that, and as the president of marketing company, he would know that all too well.

Sony is going to have to cut ties with him, meaning that all their future plans to use him as Kevin Butler are now washed up, meaning an entire marketing strategy and investment has been foiled.......Cmon now, get real, What Lambert did was amateurish and unprofessional,and he breached his contract, period.

[ScubbaSteve]

@Cupid_Viper_3

After reading through most of these comments I'm glad to see someone who actually understands what's going on. When this commercial came out I knew there would be a legal action coming and when Bridgestone suddenly edited out KB it was pretty much confirmed that this was going to happen.

I'm not sure if it's just people trolling because it's Sony or they really don't understand how the world works. I'd honestly be surprised if this weren't a shoe-in case for Sony and I suspect we'll hear about a settlement in a few months.

[Legion]

@Cupid_Viper_3

The only issue here is they are not suing the actor who might be in breach of contract. They are suing the companies that utilized him. And regardless of who is President... they can't sue the company for using him... they can only confront the actor if he is in breach.

[TheRealSpy]

kevin butler was never funny. it takes a certain level of desperation to think he did sony a favor with his marketing. it's just childish "humor" that idiots respond to. you can put that stupidity anywhere and there will be a moronic audience for it.

[pixelsword]

I don't know all of the names, but it could be that he is under a contract which may have prevented him from promoting any other console, videogame, or device. The only way Sony could sue Bridgestone is that they have a contract which supports the above statement.

Prince was under something similar, as he could not use the name given to him by his parents unless he was with Time/Warner; so it's not a stretch to think something like this exists out there.

@ therealspy;

Your presence here either undermines your hypothesis or supports it.

I'm saying support. ;D

[MariaHelFutura]

@knowyourstuff.

Well, he could always go back to killing babies on scare tactics.

[Reibooi]

There are a few reasons Sony could be suing and be within their right and not be bullying in the process.

Firstly is if he signed a non-compete clause. This would basically not allow him to work on anything for a certain period of time in advertising or not work on anything that was gaming related. It all depends on the contract he had signed with Sony.

2nd Sony could be suing because they believe Bridestone was leading people to believe he was still portraying the Kevin Butler character.

This has happened before mind you in a different business. During the Monday night wars of the late 90's the WWF sued the WCW when Razor Ramon(Scott Hall) went to WCW because when he went he played the same character and while they never said his name they clearly hinted at who he was and that he was portraying a character the WWF had Trademarked. As a matter of a fact one of the first things he said was "You know who I am but you don't know why I'm here" Implying he was their as the Razor Ramon character which was against his contract.

Something similar could be happening here with the Sony law suit but until more info comes out there is no reason to be throwing hate in every possible direction.

[Kevin ButIer]

*looks awesome in white coat*

[Pekka]

@Cupid_Viper_3: Even contracts aren't forever and actor can also decide to leave whenever contract is being negotiated. They can't force him to continue and contract is void after he leaves and he can work for their worst competitors. Of course, character of Kevin Butler is owned by Sony but not Lambert if he isn't on their paylist. Even Messi could change from Adidas to Nike if Adidas decides his contract is too expensive or Messi decides to change sides when contracts are negotiated. His contract doesn't last forever but could last for several years.

[StraightPath]

Sony jus another jealous evil organisation. How is fanboys justify this? I remember the hate apple got for sueing samsung sony are no better then apple. The jus want money n be dominatr

[Nimblest-Assassin]

Is your keyboard broken, or are you unable to spell?

I honestly can't take you seriously like this

[SilentNegotiator]

If he signed a non-compete, it's cut-and-dry. Sony isn't "evil" if they want Jerry to complete his contract by not promoting other systems.

No need to call every lawsuit 'frivolous'. No one seems to REALLY know any details here anyway.

[soljah]

here is one of the problems with lambert. sony is still actively promoting kb in its products

http://www.gamestop.com/ps3...

and its a karting game lust like the mario kart game lambert was promoting in the commericial

[jadenkorri]

Kevin Butler aka Jerry Lambert, will unfortunately no longer be doing Sony/playstation commercials, sad really, I always enjoyed them. But I'm gonna call it now, MS will pick him up and do a commercial for "said game" for the 360/720. Cause we all know MS loves copying Sony, plus the amount of media frenzy it will gain will be huge advertisement.

[TheRealSpy]

this is just an example of a sony troll trying to paint an image of anyone who sees sony for the money grubbing corporation that they are. if you think this guy is trying to make a real point, you are an idiot.

he's trolling on behalf of sony fanboys everywhere. that's all it is. nobody is this stupid.

[CalvinKlein]

sony is poor and getting sue happy because they are desperate for money.

[nerdkiller]

i hope this is fake, not right that sony wants copy rights to a human-being who needs to eat. im sure there not upset with them selves after pswiimotes and smash bros. battle royal

[BrianC6234]

He can do his job, just not pretend to be a character Sony owns.

[nerdkiller]

@brian:

lets think for a sec,so you're tellin me a he shouldn't do commercial that involves video games becuase he used to do sony ones, then i guess ppl who work for pepsi can't drink coke.

if no names weren't involved then its a free country he can do what ever job comes his way, he needs to eat u know.

( l thought this was AMERICA ) south park:

[CalvinKlein]

ahah shouldnt they sue kevin buttnerd instead?

[jd666]

What's your obsession with butts? Oh sorry you can't reply can you as you've run out of bubbles!!! HAHAHA

[SPAM-FRITTER-123]

Sony suing Bridgestone.....LOL

I suppose every penny counts when you're on your way to bankruptcy.

I thought Apple suing Samsung was bad till i saw this.

[360ICE]

All this relentless suing...
Well, well, it sure beats threatening as Bill Maher would have said. I think...

[Carl_Shocker]

I wouldn't be surprized, Sony created Kevin Butler out of Jerry Lambert...for him to use his Kevin Butler persona promoting a Nintendo product was a lawsuit waiting to happen.

I mean if I had created something like Kevin Butler for my company I wouldn't like rival companies using it....nobody would.

I know Jerry Lambert is an actor but he could of made a new character for it.

[shackdaddy]

But they didn't use Kevin Butler...

[Carl_Shocker]

Yeah but they gave off that impression that they did, wigs, make up, haristyles, something which wouldn't make people go

"Hey it's Kevin Butler"

Even though it's not, to most gamers who havent heard of Jerry Lambert they would still relate him to Kevin Butler.

[shackdaddy]

That's really stupid. He's an actor. What do you want him to do, wear a mask?

And furthermore. Kevin Butler was a CEO in a dress shirt and tie. In the Bridgestone commercial Lambert was a scientist/tester wearing lab clothes. That should be a big enough difference to tell the two characters apart. People just say he's the Kevin Butler guy because that was his most popular role.

[Nimblest-Assassin]

This is real... the documents are here

http://dockets.justia.com/d...

http://docs.justia.com/case...

[killerhog]

I agree shackdaddy, most people didn't even notice, till an article here brought it up.

@carl

Sony didnt really change the actor appearance all that much from what he looks like real life. This is a dumb lawsuit if true.

[Lord_Sloth]

He's an actor under contract to promote SONY! He's allowed to act as long as he isn't promoting Sony's competition. It's business. At least they aren't suing over something as stupid as rounded edges, which nobody seemed to complain about. But it's cool to hate on Sony. Doesn't seem to be cool to hate on Apple even if they are dumb!

[Jazz4108]

Did sony also sue that movie he was just in as well. Sony is being very stupid in the sense and seem desperate now to get some free money with no merit for it.

[admiralvic]

You know what I find funny? I remember seeing COUNTLESS KB commercials during primetime tv and my sitcoms I watch when im not gaming or have too little time to start anything. However, I've only seem this bridgestone commercial ONCE outside of seeing it on N4G a while back. Why is this important? Because they're clearly marketing COMPLETELY different demographics (or I just got insanely lucky, but lets assume it's the demo). This means even if Lambert was acting or even looking like Butler, 90%+ of the people that saw the ad wouldn't have made the connection or even know who / what Kevin Butler is.

[GarandShooter]

I disagree. This is clearly not marketing to a different demographic. The only gamers this ad is not aimed at are those that are too young to drive. I've seen the Bridgestone/Lambert commercials during NFL broadcasts. So let's tie this all together.

One of the most iconic things at outdoor sports events for decades was none other than the Goodyear blimp. Yes, another tire manufacturer.

Tire commercials, and general auto related commercials are plentiful during sports broadcasts. Saw some just last night during TBS's coverge of the ALDS and NLDS.

Bridgestone plays heavily to that with their 'made a football, hockey puck, etc. from our tire compound' whimsical commercials. If I'm not mistaken, they were first aired during the Superbowl.

Millions of sports games licensed from the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, FIFA, etc. are sold to gamers every year, indicating many gamers are sports fans and many sports fans are gamers.

Why would Bridgestone and Nintendo run an ad that was aimed at drivers/gamers during a broadcast that didn't appeal to them? They wouldn't.

Sorry admiralvic, I think your 90%+ is way off the mark.

[Knight_Crawler]

@Carl - Are you seriously trying to justify this? I understand if Jerry has some agreement in his contract that states that he can not appear in any other game related product as long as he is under contract with Sony...which if this is the case Sony should have just sent a warning later to Bridgestone asking them to pull the commercial or else which they did pull the commercial and replaced it very fast but for Sony to try and get money out of this makes them look just as bad as Apple for suing someone for using a shape.

Also they did not use KB in the commercial they used Jerry Lambert and he never spoke and was not even the main person in the commercial.

Sony messes up on this and they are also suing Lamberts advertising company which is sad because I really like him as a person.

[wastedcells]

It's so easy to see who the trolls are around here, every sony article the same people are there to troll it up a little bit. Then you see the same people on xbox articles saying they love this and love that.

[zgoldenlionz]

Soon as commercial aired damage was done. If lambert can't promote Sonys competitors he shouldn't have done the commercial. Plain and simple.

Bridgestone should have known this I'm sure they have tons of lawyers.

[GarandShooter]

Are you aware that lawsuits can be filed to show the seriousness/willingness to involve the legal system of the plaintiff? That far more are filed than actually go to trial? That not all settlements involve the defendant paying the plaintiff?

Do you know Jerry personally? I would think that would be required to like him as a person.

[topekomsi]

You are incorrect, he did speak in the commercial.

http://www.gonintendo.com/?...

[SonyNGP]

That...is incredibly dumb if it's true.

[Frankfurt]

It's Sony, what did you expect?

[Nimblest-Assassin]

Reads comment

See's frankfurt

Expected as much... did sony do something to you as a child.. because your spite towards them is abnormal, even beyond fanboy terms

@Outside_ofthe_Box

No seriously, I think Frankfurt has a problem. Usually fanboys act like this to spite people on relevant articles... frankfurt does this in almost every comment he makes, iregardless of the content of the article

I honestly think

A) Sony did something to him as a child
B) He works for microsoft based on his article posts and his comments
C) He is a new breed of fanboy that we have not seen before... and it scares me

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

I can tell you what I didn't expect... I didn't expect them to sue.

I did expect a comment like that from you however... lol.

@Nimblest-Assassin

lol, he's just one of those people that takes everything that they hate/like way too seriously, crossing all sorts of boundaries/lines..

[majiebeast]

Show me on the doll where Sony touched you.

[wastedcells]

What's funny is the Sony trolls on N4G have no problem calling out trolls on Xbox articles. You don't have to be here long to see who they are.

[prototypeknuckles]

LMFAO really? I mean I can see the problem but REALLY?

[DiRtY]

This is pathetic. It really is.

[YodaCracker]

Sony is just embarrassing these days.

[dafegamer]

how is it embarassing? Their greatest TV Commercial Icon is promoting the competition.
There is nothing emberassing to sue bridgestone for their stupid mistake. Its called business dude
MS, Apple and even Nintendo do it all the time

[ronin4life]

It is embarrassing when it is a frivolous suit with no grounds that's doomed to fail.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

lolz Is it really that serious?

[Blankman85]

Guess we won't be seeing Kevin again anytime soon.

[TongkatAli]

Good, where did I put that darn flamesheild.

[GuruStarr78]

I wonder if he'll still be preorder DLC for LBP Karting?!!

[GamingBuddha09]

what about that rollaid commercial? will sony sue for a lifetime supply of tumms?

[toxiichollow]

It looks like Jerry Lambert solded his soul to SONY...

[LakerGamerEnthusiast]

solded. lol solded.

[Getowned]

aha! lol!!

[GreenRanger]

Do you people actually think that Jerry Lambert gives a crap about Sony?
He's an actor, ffs.
He's more concerned about putting food on the table and taking care of his wife and kids.
I doubt this guy knew anything about the PS3/Move before he had to learn about them for the TV ads.

[zgoldenlionz]

It's been stated a dozen times and not sure why I'm stating it, but Lambert had an endorsement deal with Sony and is now promoting a direct competitor. If it was a taco bell commercial Sony wouldn't sue. If it was a tire commercial talking about traction in rainy weather Sony wouldn't care, but it is what it is.

Someone should have known better and that's why Sony has to sue.

[yesmynameissumo]

I don't see why this is an issue, they're suing Bridgestone, not Jerry Lambert. Anyone?

[Ben_Grimm]

You don't find it a little strange that Sony is sueing Bridgestone for using the same actor who played in the Sony commercials?

I can see if Bridgstone went out of there way and called the character Kevin or Mr. Butler, but they didn't.

And was there anything in this actor's contract that stated he couldn't appear on TV playing another gaming counsole? Cause if that's the case it should be on him.

Anyways this is pretty low of Sony is true.

[yesmynameissumo]

They're suing over trademark infringement. No, I don't see that as strange.

[feeter]

what trademark infringement... Jerry Lambert has to act for his living... Sony cant sue and stop someones only way to make a living... Bridgestone didnt use the Kevin Butler name or in anyway dress Jerry to look like Kevin... If you ever look at actors in commercials they will be in a Ford commercial one month then a Toyota or Honda the next (its the way thing happen)... Someone stated above about Athletes thats called sponsorship which is totally different... Even with a non compete clause he cannont work for Nintendo or Microsoft or any other direct competitors... Bridgestone is not selling the Wii but giving it away as a promotion(hence non-compete)... a lawyer could defend Bridgestone a thousand ways, only reason Sony's lawyers put this in is cause they are paid to do so even if there is very little ground to do so... I doubt this will go far but Sony has cash to throw away and things will be worked out before they ever see a courtroom...

[2v1]

I can see if Bridgstone went out of there way and called the character Kevin or Mr. Butler, but they didn't.
think the problem is the wii console in the bridgstone commercial

[Knight_Crawler]

Actually they are suing Bridgestone and Wildcat Creek Inc, which happens to be presidented(is that a word?) by Jerry Lambert.

As much as you may love Sony no one should be defending them on this...Sony should have just sent them a warning letter telling them to pull the commercial which they did.

I mean how much money do Sony expect to get from this and do they really expect to win?

[dragonyght]

how do you know that sony didn't warn them?

[Max-Zorin]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ________
. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . ,.-‘”. . . . . . . . . .``~.,
. . . . . . . .. . . . . .,.-”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .“-.,
. . . . .. . . . . . ..,/. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ”:,
. . . . . . . .. .,?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\,
. . . . . . . . . /. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,}
. . . . . . . . ./. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,:`^`.}
. . . . . . . ./. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,:”. . . ./
. . . . . . .?. . . __. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :`. . . ./
. . . . . . . /__.(. . .“~-,_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,:`. . . .. ./
. . . . . . /(_. . ”~,_. . . ..“~,_. . . . . . . . . .,:`. . . . _/
. . . .. .{.._$;_. . .”=,_. . . .“-,_. . . ,.-~-,}, .~”; /. .. .}
. . .. . .((. . .*~_. . . .”=-._. . .“;,,./`. . /” . . . ./. .. ../
. . . .. . .\`~,. . ..“~.,. . . . . . . . . ..`. . .}. . . . . . ../
. . . . . .(. ..`=-,,. . . .`. . . . . . . . . . . ..(. . . ;_,,-”
. . . . . ../.`~,. . ..`-.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..\. . /\
. . . . . . \`~.*-,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..|,./.....\,__
,,_. . . . . }.>-._\. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .|. . . . . . ..`=~-,
. .. `=~-,_\_. . . `\,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\
. . . . . . . . . .`=~-,,.\,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . `:,, . . . . . . . . . . . . . `\. . . . . . ..__
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .`=-,. . . . . . . . . .,%`>--==``
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _\. . . . . ._,-%. . . ..`\

[ajax17]

Exactly. I thought the Onion made this at first.

[nerdkiller]

@ max:

thats how u earn bubbles son, 1-up for u

[DialgaMarine]

Sony... I respect you as a company and I love the products you deliver, but this is absolutely ridiculous. Please, someone tell me that this is a joke. Jerry Lambert is his own f*cking human being. If he wants to market a f*cking Wii, he has every right to do so. Unless he was under some wierd ass contract that states he can only market Sony products, this whole thing makes no sense. It's a damn shame too. Kevin Butler had to be one of the most awesome VG marketing mascots ever.

[EffectO]

wtf is wrong with Sony?

[Kenjifirera]

Kevin Butler CEO of breaking my heart </3 :'(

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

You think they would've treaded more lightly with this Bridgestone ad!

[Shnazzyone]

Has Sony really become this desperate? Poor guy can't even do anything else without whatever alternate work he gets being sued by sony apparently.

[Straightupbeastly]

Sony is shitting their pants because the Wii u is almost here.

Plus I'm sure they need every cent they can get after losing billions over the last couple of yrs

[olLANDSHARKlo]

Desperate times for $ony, they are stooping to a new low, PS4 and $ony will be out of the console business.

[Grenade]

Yeah yeah, you've used your one bubble to troll a Sony article, good for you, now piss off and move on to the next one.

[ChunkyLover53]

That is kind of sad really, the guy is an actor, he isn't really involved with Sony on any other level.

[kingPoS]

This is why lawsuits will be the end of world. (not a comet)lol

[Tultras]

I don't see why everyone is going ballistic on Sony, I mean no one here knows the TOA the actor and Sony have, so why are we making comments as if we're certified lawyers or something. :/

[ronin4life]

You don't need a law degree to know stupid when you see it.

In fact, sometimes it would only get In the way( see Apple vs.Samsung)

[Tultras]

I don't think the problem here is that he is advertising for another product, rather that he is advertising the Wii, I am confident that his terms of agreement would forbid him on that.

I say that because Jerry lambart has appeared in some movies, like Bad teacher ( 2011 ), no lawsuit over that.

So the problem here is that he is appearing in an ad which is essentially also promoting the Wii, I find Sony's concern on that very legitimate.

[Grenade]

I wonder how many death threats, letter bombs and "DIE TRAITOR BASTARD, DIIIEEEE!!" tweets Jerry Lambert has received from fanboys over this?

[Drainage]

so sony cries to lawyers when their shit gets stolen by Wii but when they steal shit (Brawl,Kart,Move), they keep quiet.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

But wait a minute? Kevin hasn't done a commercial for Sony since last year? Trademark infringement? Sony doesn't own Kevin, kevin doesn't work at Sony.

This doesn't sound like a case to me. Sounds like Sony's trying to make a case out of nothing. And trying to make money.

[dafegamer]

Its very sad to see(yet again)all trolls showing themselves form their hideout to jump on sony. I mean c'mon guys Apple and Microsoft are doing it all the time but yet Sony is evil for Sueing another Company? All this Sony hate smh I really dont get it. I remember when Apple sued Samsung "many" times
and no one made a big deal about it. Hmmmm conspiracy? 0_o????

[Unlimax]

Why Suing ... Nintendo and Sony are Friends .. aren't they !?

They need to be friends ..Why compete in things that do not deserve sensitivity , This is the only reason that makes me hate competition in this type of positions !

God i hate that when companys fight against each other for one person !

[kevinsheeks]

It's okay if the companies fight they're childish but to bring in someone who is just acting to get the bills paid that's kind of low.

if your not using him anymore you can't just pop up a year later and say heyyy that's not cool dude you did that commercial with the other guys console

[Yodagamer]

Well to be fair to sony, they aren't suing nintendo. They are suing Bridgestone for a stupid reason, but maybe they have a contract with Jerry, who knows...

[dubt72]

Hahaha, Sony trying to get money any way they can!!!

[younglj01]

I read nothing too this personally only thing would have been better if Bridgestone would had an 360 instead of an Wii.I think Sony,Nintendo,& Bridgestone knew what they was doing when this was being talked about.I think people are overacting atm...

Edit:Lol how did I lose an bubble?I love how my opinion have been reduced too bubbles who thought of this ideal seriously?Maybe this comment will get me one bubble which would awesome!!!!!!!!!!!! ;)

Long live MAG.........

[ElementX]

Sony is the new Apple

[Kisama]

Apparently he didn't read the part of his contracts that reads, "You belong to SONY"

[StreetsofRage]

Sony is that desperate? What a sad company.

[imbrawler]

this is why we can't have nice things

[urwifeminder]

This calls for a full rubber boycott .

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

What difference does it make? Sony makes the most ambitious console core games but their marketing is sh!t..

I say let kevin market another mario spin off and buy a marketing company instead of spending time in court.. I would have fired the sony marketing team 3 years ago.

This is just a waste of time & money an a distraction from re vamping the playstation brand.

the commercial was crap anyway imo..

I'm not against nintendo though just sayin.

[DwightOwen]

It's not like the "Kevin Butler" commercial campaign was working anyway.

I swear, Sony has the WORST marketing department when it comes to to gaming. Stop with this "spokesperson" bullshit (i.e. Kevin Butler, ghetto-ass Marcus) and JUST SHOW THE DAMN GAMES! HOW HARD IS THAT TO GRASP?!

[TemplarDante]

Some idiot on the 1st page said Sony executives have been cutting jobs on all fronts, yet are still paying themselves huge bonuses..
You do realise thats BS.
On Bloomberg, it was stated Kaz Hirai and other execs worldwide have decided to NOT receive any bonuses until they dig the company out of its slump.
How many corporate execs say that?
Did the CEOs of GM say that? They got the bailout and then paid themselves millions.
Now, with Kevin Butler, If Sony says attire, persona etc are the intellectual propety of Sony, they have grounds for suing.The ad hasnt aired in my country, so I havnt seen it yet. But If his character in the new commercial insinuates he is the same guy as Kevin Butler, there are grounds for them to be sued.

[Bladesfist]

Ok, well that is dumb.

[BX81]

Sony is lame for this, just let the man live.

[Platinum_k]

You guys are complete retards if you say you know exactly what Sony should do or not do.

[TVippy]

"Kevin" doesn't fucking give a shit! And that's hilarious.

[tiffac008]

This is a lesson to everyone, before signing a contract make sure you read it thoroughly and more than once because you may never know, you may be selling your soul already. lol!

But on a serious note, this is just sad. No more KB in the future. Ain't the constant copyright suing in the tech industry bad enough that even commercials are now getting sued?

[Deadpool616]

It is rather sad. All the lawsuits limits innovation when it comes to creating new tech and inventions. But that's a entirely different rant...

The Kevin Butler character saved Sony's promotional ads and helped the public know what the PS3 was all about. That was Sony's saving grace during their toughest times and now they're axing KB over one tire commercial with the Wii in it? This a really sad and petty move by Sony.

It would be wise if Sony just dropped the lawsuit and moved on. They're not gaining anything out of this.

[PirateThom]

Kevin Butler isn't a real person. He's a character. I don't think the problem here is Jerry Lambert appearing in the commercial, the problem is he's appearing in a commercial with the same persona as the PlayStation ads advertising a rival product.

I don't know if it's grounds for a lawsuit, but if people can make claims over the shape of tablets, then anything is possible.

[claud3]

Give me a freaking break here. A guy did an advert for Nintendo and this is news why... and when was it against the law to earn a living..

So stupid, people getting all teary eyed of a pointless news

[chukamachine]

In the end there will only be chaos.

He is an actor, payed to do a certain job.

I very much doubt he is in breach. That bird has flown.

Sony should leave well alone.

[Silly gameAr]

Well, that bad ol' Sony. Just evil I tells ya.

[RoseSapphire]

He likely violated his non-compete clause. He referenced and used a Wii, a competing product.

It's pretty clear cut. He shouldn't have done the commercial.

[claud3]

Come on, a guy and money go hand in hand... so whats the big deal

[TalesFromTheBud]

they're suing kevin butler... theres another story about it waiting to be approved.

[ado908]

LMFAO!!!

[etowntwo]

Lol....

This is just sweet irony. Remebering Sony fans that used to praise KB back in the day, to now see their fav PS promoter/icon just sheet on all their faces.

Good move Sony with KB. Really paid off in the long run. Lmao

[trouble_bubble]

Precedent has been set for this type of thing, remember when Naked cowboy was allowed by the judge to sue M&M's for their blue M&M naked cowboy ripoff? And they settled outside of court? Bang. Sony is within their rights. precedent was set here
http://www.onpointnews.com/...
http://articles.cnn.com/200...

Bridgestone could've used Jerry Lambert in any role in that commercial, the fact they deliberately used him as the guy with the Wii, rides the coattails of the Kevin Butler videogame persona. They knew what they were doing, ala Sony's marketing campaign they put Lambert in a very Kevin Butler-esque position and aesthetic that could confuse some consumers into seeing the Wii as "PS3 VP of everything" endorsed. Too many similarities. They knew they were wrong, and if they weren't in the wrong, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE PULLED THE CHARACHTER! But they did, which is basically an admission of guilt.

Common sense people. Bridgestone stuck a Wii in his hands and lo and behold, it got them attention on here for example with "Kevin Butler advertises the Wii" headlines and lulz at Sony.

some links to read in between 'sony is evil' fud:
http://info.legalzoom.com/b...

http://www.wisegeek.com/wha...

Parties often settle outside of court, like M&Ms, which is what will happen here 99%. Sony is not the first or last to do this. Boycott Mattel and McDonalds while you're at it. Don't waste a bubble on "evil Sony" before talking to Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Prince/symbol/artist formerly know as, Paris Hilton, WWF/WWE, Rosa Parks/OutkasT, or MICROSOFT -gasp- who sued a high school student for the domain name MikeRoweSoft lmao, and settled outside of court http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[Silly gameAr]

They'll be coming out in droves to yuck it up today.

[yewles1]

People are missing the big picture here, how this all started. Look at these articles...

http://lybio.net/tag/kevin-...
http://www.gamezone.com/pro...

HUNDREDS of these headlines, and almost not one stating Jerry Lambert's actual name. Even when he was removed from the commercial...

http://nintendoeverything.c...
http://www.gonintendo.com/?...

Even THIS headline neglects his name. If it wasn't for the media having a poke at Sony with these articles, Jerry Lambert would've never had an issue due to Sony not noticing how serious these outlets were apparently taking a character identified with the actor's likeness.

In the end, EVERYONE hurts from all this... except of course for those that knew what they were doing and are currently laughing at all of us for it, that is.

[Drainage]

this pretty much means SONY can never use another actor to market themselves because we would all know its a sham

[t3rrorc3ll]

Come on people if apple can sue for rectangles with round edges and swipe to unlock then Sony can sue for stupid shit too. Remember this world of suing was started by the good people of a little known country called the USA, where people sue for spilling hot coffee on themselves

[ashcroft]

Sony has sued hackers where everyone else such as Apple and Microsoftjust patch and even asked for their assistance.

Sony has constantly removed features from their console within every new model.

They removed backwards compatibility for cost measure reasons but reimplemented them in a paying psn store.

How does this not sound like a company on it's last legs..The ps4 not being launched has nothing to do with the ps3's longevity, it has to do with the fact they can't afford to release it