Campaign Says It Was Duped Into Believing Morgan Freeman Would Do A Political Ad For Their Candidate
from the publicity-rights? dept
Apparently, the campaign of BJ Lawson, who just lost in his bid to take a Congressional seat away from Rep. David Price in North Carolina, claimed that actor Morgan Freeman did the voiceover on their recent campaign ad:
Following that, the Lawson campaign pulled down its press release announcing that Freeman had done the ad, and replaced it with an announcement claiming they were scammed by a contractor named MEI Political, and going so far as to actually post the contract and emails that had gone back and forth over this (which show a fee of $4,500, which you have to assume is way below Freeman’s going rate):
The guy from MEI Political, Ben Mathis, has responded with a press release and by releasing other emails himself, claiming that all along he was clear that it was Morgan Freeman’s “voice double” and stating that the campaign could not claim Morgan Freeman made the ad:
Of course, it will be interesting to see if any lawsuits actually come out of this, and who, exactly, sues whom? Freeman, conceivably, could have a publicity rights claim against the campaign and against MEI. The campaign could have a suit against MEI as well if it can make the argument that the contract indicates it would actually be Freeman, not his voice double. And, you could even see how MEI might have a case against the campaign, after the campaign claimed it was “tricked” by “a political mercenary.” Of course, with the election over, and Lawson losing, they all might just let it slide… Either way, while some might claim this is a perfect example of where publicity rights make sense, it seems like good old traditional fraud statutes and contract law could handle any necessary legal lifting here instead.
Filed Under: bj lawson, contracts, morgan freeman, publicity rights
Companies: mei political
Comments on “Campaign Says It Was Duped Into Believing Morgan Freeman Would Do A Political Ad For Their Candidate”
Voice double actor could be the big winner...
I’d really love to see the voice double come out ahead on this one…
“I had a major political campaign think I was Morgan Freeman. What do you want to bet I can convince your customers too? Contact my booking agent at xxx-555-1212 for more information.”
Good voice, but the pacing is not Freeman
The pitch of the voice is pretty much spot on, but the pacing and inflection used gives it away as a double. Especially when he inflects his voice upwards you can easily tell the difference.
I still must admit that the voice double did a really good job, but he is no Morgan Freeman.
Re: Good voice, but the pacing is not Freeman
I would guess if he voiced over video of Morgan Freeman talking you wouldn’t notice (if done with professional quality). Certainly most people wouldn’t.
Oblig
obligatory xkcd reference
http://xkcd.com/462/
How many campaigns were doing this?
Apparently Scott Walker’s successful re-election campaign also used Not Morgan Freeman. See here: http://www.wisn.com/news/25558766/detail.html
That story suggests that the agency that created the Wisconsin ad is local, where MEI seems to be in California.
How many campaigns were doing this?
Apparently Scott Walker’s successful re-election campaign also used Not Morgan Freeman. See here: http://www.wisn.com/news/25558766/detail.html
That story suggests that the agency that created the Wisconsin ad is local, where MEI seems to be in California.