Using Names of Famous People in your Ads

5 replies
I'll have to talk in generalities to avoid giving away my whole business plan...

A reputable record company has produced a "remix" song featuring the voices of two pretty famous scientists. I assume the record company obtained the necessary permissions to reproduce these voices.

If I want to resell this record, what would be permissible in the advertising?

What I have in mind is to use the names of these scientists in a sort of "misleading" way in the first line of the ad (to grab the reader's attention), then immediately explain how that first line is misleading.

I realize that we would need lawyers to give a definitive opinion, but do you have any opinions on what you think would be acceptable - without getting sued by these two famous scientists?

Thanks,
Steve R.
R.A.M. Video
#ads #famous #names #people
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by ronyoung View Post

    This is aginst the brand . They can sue you and you can get into a lot of legal problems with copywrite violation and other stuff
    It's not about branding or "copywrite", at all. Nor even "copyright". It's about the exploitation of people's public-image/reputation for commercial gain, which may breach their civil-law rights.

    I'm only surprised that after had so many of your most fatuous posts deleted yesterday by the moderators, apparently you're still blithely posting nonsense on subjects about which you clearly know nothing at all. If "and other stuff" is the extent of your knowledge, then you help nobody by posting simply to expose your signature-file as often as possible.

    (And by the way "copywrite" and "copyright" are two completely different words.)

    Originally Posted by Steve Robertson View Post

    I realize that we would need lawyers to give a definitive opinion
    I think this is the problem, Steve. This isn't a great place to ask for or to take legal advice. I appreciate you're not really asking for legal advice as such, but it's really difficult for people who aren't lawyers to know whether anything they do know about this subject is relevant to your exact circumstances.

    For myself, I'd be extremely nervous of doing anything involving using their names without express permission.

    .
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9827488].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Steve Robertson
      Let me see if I can create an example that's essentially identical to what I have in mind -

      Johnny Cash is a famous country music star who passed away a few years ago. So let's say that a reputable record company produced a special record of Johnny's music. I'm a retailer who wants to sell this Johnny Cash record. So I run an ad that starts "Invite Johnny Cash into your home." Then the ad explains that you can't really invite Johnny Cash the person, but you can invite his music.

      Obviously, if I'm going to sell a Johnny Cash record, his name must appear somewhere in my ad. Likewise, if I sell this record featuring a famous deceased scientist, I must put his name somewhere in the ad. The question is, can I use the name in the first line of the ad to suggest something that's obviously impossible. But not derogatory.

      Steve
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9827604].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author iansinfo
    Unless you've got deep pockets I would give it a miss
    Signature

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9828560].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author spearce000
      Originally Posted by iansinfo View Post

      Unless you've got deep pockets I would give it a miss
      I second that. Famous people can usually afford famous (and expensive) lawyers. - as can their estates after they're dead.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9828970].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author LodestarVince
    I would personally say feel free to use videos and music of any celebrity you want until they show up in your office asking how you paid for your Lambos and boats.

    Then you might want to stop...

    Like this:

    Dr. Oz Goes Face to Face with Scam Artists, Pt 1 - Dr. Oz Takes Down the Scammers Using His Name to Dupe You | The Dr. Oz Show
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9828983].message }}

Trending Topics