Andre Yoskowitz
19 Jan 2013 19:45
In 2010, Sony began a new marketing campaign that included comedic actor Jerry Lambert as Kevin Butler, an alleged Sony VP of whatever the company was marketing in that ad.
The character and the ads were an instant hit, and Sony has stuck with them ever since, letting Butler introduce most new features and items for the PlayStation 3. In September of last year, Lambert took a job with Bridgestone for their "Game On" promotion. In the commercial, Lambert is portrayed playing a Nintendo Wii console. Sony was not happy and filed suit against Bridgestone Tires and Wildcat Creek, the ad agency behind the commercials. The company said Kevin Butler is their intellectual property and seeing Lambert playing a Wii will confuse consumers and hurt the brand.
As of this week, Lambert (Wildcat Creek) has settled while Bridgestone and Sony continue to battle it out in District Court.
In the settlement, Lambert acknowledged that his contract with Sony barred him from promoting competing game consoles, which the Wii certainly is. The actor also acknowledged that consumers may have been confused and believed he was playing Butler in the Bridgestone ads, as well.
As part of the settlement, Lambert will not appear in any ad or promotion that features or mentions "any other video game or computer entertainment system or video game company" for the next two years.