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Thread: Sony Sues Playstation Spokesperson Kevin Butler

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    Default Sony Sues Playstation Spokesperson Kevin Butler

    So technically they are sueing the actor who plays Kevin Butler because he appeared in a promotion where you could win one of their rivals products, an Nintendo Wii, for a tire ad. Actually, three parties are being sued. As they say, all good things must come to an end.
    Last edited by The 1 2 P; 10-08-2012 at 07:00 PM.
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    Probably safe to say we won't be seeing him in a Playstation ad again anytime soon... not that he's probably WANT to after this.

    I mean, Sony, REALLY? Have things gotten so bad for you that you've gotta sue an actor to get some extra cash?

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    Was there a genuine following for this guy? I thought he was an annoying mascot..

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    Quote Originally Posted by joshnickerson View Post
    Probably safe to say we won't be seeing him in a Playstation ad again anytime soon... not that he's probably WANT to after this.

    I mean, Sony, REALLY? Have things gotten so bad for you that you've gotta sue an actor to get some extra cash
    This is what I was thinking. All they had to do was fire him if they did not like what he did
    Last edited by Hwj_Chim; 10-08-2012 at 10:21 PM.
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    Never liked Sony, never will.

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    Good old greedy corportations. Do anything to make an extra buck

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    Reaction to this pretty much everywhere has really surprised me. If he violated his contract then Sony has every right to sue.

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    Quote Originally Posted by SpaceHarrier View Post
    Was there a genuine following for this guy? I thought he was an annoying mascot..
    I liked him. Was sad when they stopped running the commercials some time last spring.

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    Sony is suing him for using the Kevin Butler character to promote a competitor's product, he didn't use that character so this doesn't make sense. Sony hasn't used him in commercials since late 2011, they should just leave him alone for working.

    Here's the original ad by the way. It's pretty hard to find now as it's been removed from youtube.
    http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=184686

    Here's an updated version of the commercial, they edited him out.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9WRGjODZDQ

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gameguy View Post
    Sony is suing him for using the Kevin Butler character to promote a competitor's product, he didn't use that character so this doesn't make sense. Sony hasn't used him in commercials since late 2011, they should just leave him alone for working.
    Until his contract is disclosed you can't say if he is or isn't in violation. It's very possible there's something in there that prevents him, in any capacity, from being in advertisements with a competitor's product until X amount of time has passed.

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    Quote Originally Posted by InsaneDavid View Post
    Reaction to this pretty much everywhere has really surprised me. If he violated his contract then Sony has every right to sue.
    Just because a company can sue doesn't mean they necessarily should. I've been involved in instances where it was better to work something out behind the scenes than face the potential PR and financial nightmares. It'll be interesting to see what the terms of his contract are/were.
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    Quote Originally Posted by RCM View Post
    Just because a company can sue doesn't mean they necessarily should. I've been involved in instances where it was better to work something out behind the scenes than face the potential PR and financial nightmares. It'll be interesting to see what the terms of his contract are/were.
    I understand that but there has to be money to be made here, easy ironclad money, to pursue this.

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    It's Sony's lack of creativity that is most disappointing.
    Instead of suing him, they should have brought him back as a spokesperson and made some joke about how the competition has to give their stuff away with automotive supplies,

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    Quote Originally Posted by InsaneDavid View Post
    I understand that but there has to be money to be made here, easy ironclad money, to pursue this.
    I doubt it's as 'ironclad' as it seems. Anyway, if this is Sony's new way of making money consider me scared...
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    Quote Originally Posted by InsaneDavid View Post
    If he violated his contract then Sony has every right to sue.
    I understand what you're saying but from the outside looking in a few things are apparent:

    1.) He is not "using" the Kevin Butler character in that commercial, just his own likeness and he's never named on screen.
    2.) He isn't promoting going out and "buying"(thus not competing) a Wii, his company is saying that a Wii is just one of the prizes of the promotion.

    and the biggie....

    3.) He is not working for or promoting Nintendo as a company.

    So based on that alone he might be able to sidestep the non-compete clause that most companies have in place preventing you from working for rival companies, although I'm obviously no expert. Of course we have no idea what was in his contract but I see it as an actor just doing his part to continue to get work so that he can make a living. And I think Sony could have handled this alot better in several different ways other then sueing him.
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    I read that his exclusivity contract expired 3 days before that ad first aired.

    http://www.nintendolife.com/news/201...butler_lawsuit

    After the initial reaction to the news of the lawsuit, further details are coming to light. For one thing, The Hollywood Reporter has looked into details and discovered that Jerry Lambert did have an exclusivity agreement to not promote products rivalling Sony's systems, but that it expired three days before the infamous Bridgestone advert first aired. Sony's contention is that Lambert first appeared in a Bridgestone advert in February 2012, so is citing that to get around the issue of the expired exclusivity contract. Bridgestone is naturally contesting this, specifically on the grounds that it's not Kevin Butler in the advert in any case, but merely the actor in a different role.

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    I guess Sony's in the tire business?

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    I actually liked the Kevin Butler character, he made me laugh. I especially liked his stuff with Joe Mauer. Seeing the same actor portraying that whiney little guy in the Bridgestone character made me a little sad.

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    There has to be some validity to the lawsuit if they remade the entire advertisement and made another character.

    The other Bridgestone ad he was in, the one testing out the football, etc. I wouldn't say that was damaging to Sony as a company, but being in a commercial that promoted their competitors gaming device seems pretty damaging. Sony pushed a lot of money into Kevin Butler as a character. Jerry Lambert starred in around 10+ Sony commercials and one of Sony's E3, so for the past few years, there have been a lot of fans that have seen him as the face of Playstation.

    Here's a video that shows most of Kevin Butler's advertisements. It's missing atleast two though. The Gran Turismo 5 advertisement and the Marcus PSP advertisement he was in.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukgISn3P2nQ
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    The first time I saw that commercial, I said to myself: "WTF is Butler doing in an ad pimping the Wii U?"

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