Sony's "mascot" — Kevin Butler — for the past few years is being sued by Sony itself. Butler, who's portrayed by actor Jerry Lambert, appeared in a commercial for Bridgestone tires playing a Nintendo Wii.
This was unearthed in gaming forum NeoGAF, where it shows Sony filing a suit against Bridgestone and Wildcat Creek. The latter having been registered in 2007 by Jerry Lambert, who is also the president according to California Secretary of State data.
Oddly enough, the commercial has been edited to take out Jerry Lambert's appearance. However, if you still want to see Kevin Butler playing with a non-Sony console, click here (thanks, GoNintendo).
So, why is Sony suing? Apparently it's because the commercial has "caused damage" and is "creating confusion" among the videogame sector (via Kotaku):
Sony Computer Entertainment America filed a law suit against Bridgestone and Wildcat Creek, Inc. on September 11. The claims are based on violations of the Lanham Act, misappropriation, breach of contract and tortious interference with a contractual relationship. 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.
Lastly, it seems Sony and the involved parties are attempting to solve the issue privately (read: settle). However nothing concrete has cropped up just yet. Regarding this, the court has ordered both parties to commit one way or another to a formal hearing in October 12.
Do you think Sony is overreacting or should Kevin Butler's actor not appear in any commercial that shows other videogame platforms at all? Does this mean we won't see anymore Kevin Butler ads? Your guess is as good as mine at this point.
