Photo via Flickr user Dan Sloan
I know more than a few people who would love to have their face plastered alongside an ice cold Natty Light in an advertising campaign, but that dream isn't for everyone.Kayla Kraft, of Greenville, North Carolina, has filed a federal lawsuit against Natural Light's parent company Anheuser-Busch, after her photo was allegedly used by the company without her permission.
Kraft claims to have posted the photo to Facebook four years ago, complete with one of those "ironic" fake plastic mustache, where an Anheuser-Busch found it and began slapping it on promotional items, including coasters, under the campaign slogan "Every Natty Has a Story."She is now trying to get a piece of the profits from the ad campaign."Defendants reproduced, distributed, and publicly displayed the Kraft photograph without the authorization or consent of Kraft or (her friend), and have created unauthorized derivative works incorporating the Kraft photograph," says the lawsuit."Defendants have engaged in a widespread pattern and practice of misappropriating the names and likeness of others for commercial purposes without permission or compensation."Unfortunately, she still hasn't explained why she was drinking Natty in the first place.A bottle? Really? If you're going to drink that swill, everybody knows you pop a hole in the bottom of the can and shotgun it to the dome—what's up my Alpha Tao Omega brothers!Though, perhaps the moral of the story is really this: Don't trust the internet to forget anything, ever. The internet doesn't care that you claim to only drink double IPAs now.UPDATE: Chelsea Phillips, Director, Value Brands at Anheuser-Busch, provided MUNCHIES with the following statement:We take consumer privacy seriously. The photo was submitted to Natural Light's Facebook page as part of Natty Rewards, a promotion where 21+ Facebook users could earn rewards for submitting photos of themselves "acting natural". We believe the lawsuit has no merit and plan to defend against it.
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