Football Legend, Edson Arantes do Nascimento otherwise known as Pelé, is suing Samsung.
The 75 year old Brazilian wants at least $30 million, alleging that the South Korean electronics giant improperly used a look-alike in an advertisement that ran in the New York Times without permission.
According to the complaint filed this month in federal court in Chicago, Samsung placed the October ad for ultra high-definition televisions after breaking off negotiations in 2013 to use Pelé’s identity to promote its products.
Note that the ad does not mention his name, but it includes a portrait-sized image of a man who “very closely resembles” him, and a small photo of a soccer player making a “modified bicycle or scissors-kick, perfected and famously used by Pelé ”
Pelé relies on endorsements for much of his income, and the ad will hurt the value of his endorsement rights and confuse consumers into believing he endorses Samsung products, the complaint added.
“The goal is to obtain fair
compensation for the unauthorized use of Pele’s identity, and to prevent future unauthorized uses,” Pelé’s lawyer, Frederick Sperling, said in a phone interview.
Samsung spokeswoman Danielle Meister Cohen declined to comment.
Now here is the ad. What do you think?
