Louis Vuitton Sues Hyundai Over Super Bowl Ad

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Mar 1st 2010 at 11:02PM

Famously litigious Louis Vuitton is at it again to protect their monogram logo. This time they are taking on Hyundai over the display of a Vuitton-logoed basketball used in in a thirty-second spot aired during the Super Bowl. It's just on the screen for a second or two, but that's enough to make Louis Vuitton angry. The commercial is meant to present the Hyundai Sonata as an luxury item at a lower price and showcases a megayacht parked in a modest neighborhood, policemen eating caviar while on the beat and crystal chandeliers used as streetlights. The NY Daily News reports that Vuitton has filed a trademark infringement suit in Manhattan Federal Court saying the logo is "famous and incontestable."

Louis Vuitton has taken on notable big and small names before. Louis Vuitton sued Britney Spears over use of a Vuitton-embroidered dashboard in a video and legal action from both Gucci and LVMH prevented rapper T.I. from releasing his "Swing Ya Rag" video which highlighted both Gucci and Louis Vuitton products. Pop group Danity Kane got in trouble for their use of Louis Vuitton trademarks used on the debut album and in related videos. The song "Show Stopper" includes the lyrics: "Bet you ain't never seen, Chicks ridin' this clean, Louis Vuitton seats, We do it deadly." As part of the settlement, P. Diddy's Bad Boy Records agreed to remove all visual references to Louis Vuitton trademarks and make available amended versions of the album and video without the Louis Vuitton images. Guitar player Dave Navarro ran afoul of the brand for his use of Vuitton guitar straps.

Check out the full Super Bowl ad after the jump