Tough guy Mr. T (aka Lawrence Tero) sued Best Buy last month over a November 2002 TV spot that showed a Best Buy salesman boxing with Mr. T.
The spot used a scene from Rocky III but digitally replaced Sylvester Stallone with the salesman and left Mr. T looking foolish, according to news reports. The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims that Eden Prairie, MN-based Best Buy didn’t ask Mr. T’s permission to use his image.
“Lawrence Tero’s claim is without merit. Best Buy properly licensed the film clip from MGM,” said a Best Buy statement. “MGM had the right to license the clip, and will work to vindicate those rights.”
A similar suit against Best Buy was filed in February by eight cast members of The Sopranos, who objected to a Best Buy newspaper insert that used their images to sell DirecTV satellite-dish systems (Xtra, Feb. 18).
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