Beer Pong Players Upset Their Beer Commercial Has Gone Viral... Sue Over Inclusion In World's Funniest Commercials

from the geographic-restricted-virality dept

Fri, Jul 16th 2010 9:33am — Mike Masnick

Oh boy! Where to start on this one. Normally, when you have a commercial on TV, you would like it to go viral so more people see it. We've certainly seen some companies use this to their advantage. But what if the actors in those commercials don't want it to go viral? What if they happen to be (or hope to be) upstanding professionals, and the commercial involves them participating in frat-boyish fun, such as playing beer pong, which they hoped would only be seen in a tiny country on the other side of the globe? Well, that seems to be exactly what happened to a pair of unfortunate (but quite talented) beer pong players, who have now sued the producers of "The World's Funniest Commercials," TBS and Carlsberg beer.

You see, Scott Tipton and Christopher Kolb are really good at beer pong. So good, that Carlsberg hired them (and a few others) to perform in this commercial:

However, one of the guys was in law school at the time, and didn't want his future career prospects diminished by his beer pong prowess. Why? Because, as the complaint explains, "the plaintiffs' difficult trick-shots indicate substantial experience playing Beer-Pong, i.e., substantial experience drinking substantial quantities of beer -- a less than desirable image...." (emphasis in the original). He also did not want his (apparently beer pong ignorant) parents and grandparents to know of his amazing skills at the "most remarkable trick-shot, ricocheting the ping-pong ball four times off of uneven, angled surfaces, and into the beer cup with back-spin, after which both Tipton and Kolb celebrate exuberantly" (emphasis in the original). Because of this, he made sure that the agreement had geographic restrictions, such that it only showed in Denmark. The other guy was an actor, who claims he agreed to a "below standard" rate, knowing that the commercial was only for the Danish market.

But, of course, the video got some attention, and the producers of The World's Funniest Commercials decided to include it in their show (with Carlsberg's blessing) which aired in the US on TBS. Even worse, the producers used a clip from the commercial in their own commercial for the show. The guys then try to make the case that the TBS promo was the key reason why people watched the show, and their clip in the promo was the key part, and thus, they deserve 50% of all of TBS's advertising from the show. Good luck with that.

The lawsuit itself involves California's popular publicity rights law (that we've been talking about a lot lately) as well as a variety of other claims. However, in an age when we're already pointing out that geographic restrictions are obsolete, does it seem even remotely reasonable that the commercial would never be seen outside of Denmark?

And yes, the legal complaint makes sure to explain just what beer pong is, in case the court is unfamiliar with the... um... sport:

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Filed Under: beer pong, commercials, denmark, publicity rights
Companies: carlsberg, tbs

26 Comments

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Scote, 16 Jul 2010 @ 9:52am

Brilliant! Now he'll show up in eLxis Nexis and Westlaw.
So, rather than just be in a video from Denmark and on a clip show in the US as a presumably un-credited performer, now he'll show up in a frivolous law suit as a plaintiff. Way to insure that you won't show up in data-base searches by future legal employers!!!

Law student fail.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2010 @ 9:54am

Re: Brilliant! Now he'll show up in eLxis Nexis and Westlaw.
(My copy editor is soooo fired...)
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 16 Jul 2010 @ 10:02am

blah blah blah
Scott Tipton and Christopher Kolb, meet Barbara Streisand.

Barbara, meet Scott and Chris.

You all have a lot to talk about.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2010 @ 10:09am

none of those shots are visually impressive nor the video the least bit memorable, so much so that I would not be able to identify anyone in the video if I was hitting them with blunt objects repeatedly for thinking that throwing a ping pong ball 3 feet across your kitchen into a cup is worth celebrating.
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Russ, 16 Jul 2010 @ 10:21am

Bud Light Commercial
This is like that Super Bowl commercial for Bud Light that had Conan O'Brien. Except in real life. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d13MkCDNKlo
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2010 @ 10:32am

Re: Brilliant! Now he'll show up in eLxis Nexis and Westlaw.
Frivolous? I don't think so. He negotiated for a geographic restriction, which the advertiser subsequently ignored.
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 16 Jul 2010 @ 10:32am

Also, just for good measure
Scott Tipton and Christopher Kolb sitting in a tree
S-U-I-N-G
First comes beer pong
Then comes sewage
Then comes a whole lot of internet ridicule, you douches.
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Cynyr (profile), 16 Jul 2010 @ 10:40am

if the original contract does state that this was for only the Denmark market, i'm not sure what the issue is here, They are suing Carslberg for breach of contract. I'm not sure how this made up here, seems(with out reading their contract) to be open and shut.

Granted it being up on Youtube by some random person isn't really Carlsberg's fault.
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Toby Sullivan (profile), 16 Jul 2010 @ 10:40am

The author of the article was obviously trying to make these guys sound like idiots, unfortunately he included far too much fact for me to see his side. "He made sure that the agreement had geographic restrictions, such that it only showed in Denmark... The World's Funniest Commercials decided to include it in their show (with Carlsberg's blessing) which aired in the US" It doesn't sound like they are suing because the commercial went viral (as the author would like you to believe). Instead, they are suing because the firm that hired them violated specific terms of their agreement. If you can't sue over that, what is worthy?
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sehlat (profile), 16 Jul 2010 @ 10:41am

One Less Lawyer
Or, as the old joke goes, "a good start."

He has successfully established that he's not competent enough to BE a lawyer. Let's see:

1. A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.

2. Has no clue about geographic restrictions, in the Age of the Internet, "mean precisely dick." (Tommy Lee Jones, MIB)

3. It is in the interests of his client (i.e. himself) NOT to call attention to the ad. I wouldn't hire a lawyer who damaged his own client.

Conclusion: Recruiters for law firms will probably notice item 3 in less time than it took me to get there.
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 16 Jul 2010 @ 11:07am

Re:
"if you can't sue over that, what is worthy?"

Just because you can sue over something (and really, what can't you?) doesn't mean you should.

We have idiot stickers all over ladders these days. There should be equivalents on lawyers' suits.
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Scote, 16 Jul 2010 @ 11:19am

Territory.
The lawsuit is clearly frivolous if their primary interest was to protect their anonymity. Did anybody who didn't already know them know they were in a beer pong commercial. You know, know their names? Well, now they do. And now they are presumably in Lexis Nexis and Westlaw. Anonymity fail.

Carlsberg did not air the commercial in the US. It was featured as part of a "best as". What if the commercial had won an award, and was featured in an award show? Would the plaintiffs be suing? Because that was essentially what happened. It was featured as one of the "funniest" commercials in a clip show of funny commercials.

The contract was signed in 2007--ahem, well after the invention of internet video and YouTube. The plaintiffs are idiots if they think that making a commercial for Denmark meant that nobody would see it outside of Denmark.

The issue of remuneration is a different issue. If they were union actors on a union shoot in the US they'd have a clear path to follow. No so much in this instance.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2010 @ 11:33am

Re:
I don't see an issue with them Suing the people they signed a contract with - Carlsberg IF Carlsberg actually violated the contract. I have not read the leagalese and do not know but it could be possible that the contract forbid Carlsberg from using the advertisement in any campaign outside Denmark which would be different than it 'being seen' outside of Denmark.

As for suing the other parties? pure money grab. If The Worlds Funniest Commercials got permission in good faith from the copyright holder than the beer pongers issue would still be with Carlsberg.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2010 @ 11:58am

Wait just a second here. Yes, these people are fucking idiots for not realizing that this would end up on youtube and be plastered all over the web.

However, seems to me as though these guys signed an agreement with carlsberg to distribute this commercial only in Denmark. Carlsberg then allowed the commercial to be distributed outside of Denmark. Seems like a legitimate case for me. If carlsberg broke the agreement then the actors should be entitled to some compensation.
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dep3che, 16 Jul 2010 @ 12:34pm

umm.. actually
I would actually hire this guy just from his beer pong skills. (if I ever needed a lawyer), because if anything or either/or, you'll go to the bar after court.
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Paul Alan Levy (profile), 16 Jul 2010 @ 1:12pm

Balance
I'm not sure what the measure of damages is going to be in a case like this. It is at least possible that the plaintiff has decided that the potential return from the litigation is worth the cost in exposure.

Of course, it is altogether possible, as Mike suggests, that it didn't occur to the plaintiff that he would be attacked on Techdirt and ridiculed as a result. But then, it is not at all clear to me that a willingness to be attacked here and ridiculed as a result disqualifies a lawyer from being hired by some major law firms (given the firms that often bring lawsuits that are likely to bring on the Streisand effect.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2010 @ 1:22pm

Re:
Not sure if it's just breach of contract (or breach of contract at all). The contract might not have said "we won't use it anywhere outside Denmark," but merely said "we only give you the right to use it in Denmark."

Believe it or not, there's a difference. I think they're suing for right of publicity violation.

(of course I'm too lazy to actually read the complaint right now)
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2010 @ 1:24pm

Re: Territory.
Sounds like Carlsberg provided the ad to the "Funniest" people, so they can't just claim "it got onto the Internet somehow."

Also, there's no way this is frivolous. Yeah, suing isn't going to help anonymity, but that ship had sailed by the time the suit was filed.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2010 @ 1:26pm

Re: One Less Lawyer
The dude isn't representing himself. Now who's a fool?
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ReRead, 16 Jul 2010 @ 1:57pm

Re: One Less Lawyer
Uh, you should reread the complaint. The lawyer here (i.e. Tipton) is not representing himself.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2010 @ 2:09pm

Re: Balance
As far as the breach of contract damages are going to be hard to figure out.

But, as far as the right of publicity, it seems TBS used the video in the promo of World's Funniest. The promo led to an audience for World's Funniest which TBS used to sell the advertising shown during World's Funniest. So the real possible recover is aginst the profits TBS made from the sell of ads shown during World's Funniest. That's the money here.
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nonanonymous, 16 Jul 2010 @ 5:14pm

Re: Balance
But then, it is not at all clear to me that a willingness to be attacked here and ridiculed as a result disqualifies a lawyer from being hired by some major law firms

Sounds like you are losing a beer pong game yourself. Even with no blog whatsoever talking about this, his name is associated with beer pong through numerous legal databases, as already stated above. Hence, idiot.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2010 @ 5:23pm

Re:
Well, first. They're drunk. Second, do you think you could make ANY of those shots yourself? I don't mean sober, either, I mean when you're six sheets to the wind.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jul 2010 @ 4:25am

Re:
I agree. Furthermore, they could have had over a 100 tries (or 52 as they say ?) to get one shot right and only use the successful ones.
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Michael, 19 Jul 2010 @ 4:51am

Really?
I would have never expected them to actually find beer pong 'experts' for a commercial. I would have figured they used actors and thousands of takes to get the ones that actually make the commercial.

Who would have thought they would spend the time to find people that could make these shots in only a few attempts?
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Mr. Gunn, 22 Jul 2010 @ 4:39pm

No one's asked the most important question...
Just what the heck is wrong with drinking beer?

"Oh noes, I have a silly hobby! What will people think!?!?"

Let me tell you right now people - As I sit here in cloudy 60 degree weather in late July - California may portray itself as being full of sun and beaches and mellow people, but that's bullshit. It's full of self-loathing guys like this who grow up to vote for laws against doing anything that could remotely be perceived as fun.
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