Benjamin Douglass, an artist from Red Bank, New Jersey, accused Bud Light of stealing his artwork for their new ad campaign featuring Vanilla Ice:
Looks like Bud Light liked my work enough to steal it. Major bummer… it would have been a dream come true to be… http://t.co/oHh8Ne0INg
— Ben Douglass (@thebendouglass) September 7, 2014
And here’s a sample of the ad. Yes, it does look like it’s the same exact artwork:
https://twitter.com/budlight/status/508421925090381824
Mr. Ice seems to have acknowledged it’s the same design, too:
Now I see it. Looking good.
Big pimpin, luv your artwork @bennyd302— Vanilla Ice (@vanillaice) September 7, 2014
But who owns this particular artwork anyway? Tweeps are asking:
https://twitter.com/mattmartone/status/508787008555479040
Answer? It’s the design for a T-shirt sold by a company called TeePublic:
@mattmartone @budlight @vanillaice https://t.co/8BnyTn6Ne0
with posting date of May 3, 2010 and all rights reserved #WhateverUSA— Ben Douglass (@thebendouglass) September 8, 2014
https://twitter.com/mattmartone/status/508790066232459266
@mattmartone I would be shocked if TeePublic was involved but I'm checking with them now.
— Ben Douglass (@thebendouglass) September 8, 2014
Recommended
https://twitter.com/mattmartone/status/508802269958406144
Here’s the summary as best as we can tell: An artist from New Jersey used Vanilla Ice’s likeness — without compensation to Mr. Ice — to sell T-shirts and now he’s angry that Bud Light is using his artwork in a major ad campaign, but he’s not sure if Bud Light stole his work or actually licensed it.
We’ll update as soon as we know more in what’s shaping up to be a major (snicker) legal battle.