Lindsay Lohan and the E*Trade “milkaholic” baby
Lindsay Lohan has filed a lawsuit in New York against E*Trade, seeking $50 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages. She also seeks to have the advertisement pulled. The advertisement, which premiered during Super Bowl XLIV, involves an off-screen female voice asking the on-screen E*Trade baby through a video chat if “that milkaholic Lindsay” was over when he didn’t call her the night before, prompting another baby, Lindsay, to step into the camera and ask “milk-a what?”
The key analysis in most right of publicity claims centers around identifiability. The question then becomes, is Lindsay Lohan identifiable from the E*Trade use? I often add “unequivocally identifiable” to clarify the analysis. Lohan’s attorney has stated that Lohan is famous on a single-name basis, just like Oprah or Madonna. Whether that can be established may be up to the judge or jury if the parties don’t settle the claim first.
Here is a link to the story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35780790/ns/business-media_biz/
March 9th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
The Lindsay Lohan VS. E-trade case is now open at AllRise online court. Join the debate and cast your vote - http://bit.ly/AllRise288