Sony is suing Jerry Lambert, the actor who plays Kevin Butler for "creating confusion" and "causing damage" to its company. Kevin Butler is a fictional PlayStation exec who appears in a series of popular commercials. Last month, however, Lambert appeared in a Bridgestone tire commercial that featured the Nintendo Wii.
Now, Bridgestone is asserting that Kevin Butler didn't appear in their commercial. In a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter), Bridgestone says, "Mr. Lambert is one of the actors who appeared in the commercial as a Bridgestone engineer," say the defendant. "Bridgestone denies that 'Kevin Butler' appears in the Bridgestone commercial discussed herein and thus denies that he speaks or does anything whatsoever in the commercial."
Bridgestone also points out that Lambert's role was not substantial. However, the commercial was eventually edited and Lambert was ultimately removed from the spot.
Sony recently explained to Kotaku why it was proceeding with the lawsuit: "We invested significant resources in bringing the Kevin Butler character to life and he's become an iconic personality directly associated with PlayStation products over the years. Use of the Kevin Butler character to sell products other than those from PlayStation misappropriates Sony's intellectual property, creates confusion in the market and causes damage to Sony."
Sony Sues Actor Who Abandoned PlayStation for Nintendo Wii [The Hollywood Reporter via Eurogamer]