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Rachel Kaser
Internet Culture WriterRachel is a writer and former game critic from Central Texas. She enjoys gaming, writing mystery stories, streaming on Twitch, and horseback Rachel is a writer and former game critic from Central Texas. She enjoys gaming, writing mystery stories, streaming on Twitch, and horseback riding. Check her Twitter for curmudgeonly criticisms.
Atari has accused Nestle of copyright infringement after a British Kit-Kat ad bore a suspicious resemblance to an old-yet-familiar game.
Anyone remember Breakout? Even if you don’t remember the name, you’d likely recognize the game if you saw it. You control a paddle at the bottom of the screen, and you bounce a ball up into a series of bricks across the top of the screen.
Atari contends the Kit-Kat ad in question — in which actors play a version of the classic game where the bricks are replaced with Kit-Kat pieces — is banking on the company-owned title to sell candy.
And … yeah, I can kinda see their point.
According to BBC, a Nestle spokesperson said, “This is a UK TV advert that ran in 2016. The ad no longer runs and we have no current plans to re-run it.”
Notice that’s not actually a defense — just because the advert ran last year doesn’t mean it’s not blatant copyright infringement.
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