Katherine Heigl sues Daune Read for $6 million

Published May 15, 2014 at 8:33 am

We recently discussed what happened when Samsung brand ambassador David Ortiz tweeted a “selfie” with President Obama in a marketing stunt that got the company in trouble with the White House. That was one example of what can happen when a brand uses someone’s image (in this case, the President of the United States) to further marketing efforts without obtaining prior consent.

Tweeting a picture of a celebrity using one of your brand’s products may seem like a great idea, but could actually turn out to be a disaster. Some brands are lucky enough to get away with these kinds of tweets with just a slap on the wrist, but not every brand is so lucky. In fact, it could land your company in legal trouble for misappropriating an image.

Adweek recently reported that New York City pharmacy Duane Reade is being sued by actress Katherine Heigl for tweeting a photo from a celebrity news website of Heigl carrying Duane Reade shopping bags. According to CNN, Duane Reade also posted about the photo on the company Facebook page.

Duane Reade is certainly receiving publicity from the tweets, though not the kind they intended, as Heigl is reportedly seeking $6 million in damages for the tweet, claiming that her image was willfully exploited. It was also reported that Heigl asked the company to take the tweet down but was ignored.

As Adweek notes, social media is spontaneous in nature. This spontaneous nature can also make it harder for large brands with significant audiences to bounce back from these types of blunders before the offended party takes legal action. However, when it comes to social media, think twice before posting celebrity images unless you have an official endorsement deal. Marketers and brand managers should be aware of social media best practices and always know the rules regarding copyrighted material.