Banned Xbox ad spurs lawsuit

25 Jun 2002 15:20

The Xbox ad barred from British television has led to a lawsuit in France, where a filmmaker claims the ideal was stolen from her

Already banned on British TV, a controversial ad for the Xbox could land Microsoft in a French court.

French filmmaker Audrey Schebat filed suit in a Paris court claiming that a TV commercial for Microsoft's video game console was copied from her short film 'Life', according to Toronto's Globe and Mail.

The commercial, created by London ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, depicts a baby shooting from its mother's womb and rapidly ageing as it soars through the air. The Independent Television Commission called the ad "shocking" and banned it from being shown on UK television, although it is still being run in cinemas. The commercial won one of the top awards last weekend at the prestigious International Advertising Festival in Cannes, France.

Schebat's suit names the ad agency and Microsoft as defendants. A representative of Bartle Bogle Hegarty told the Globe the suit would be "vigorously defended".

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Story URL: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,2117900,00.htm