The Folks at The Price Is Right Claim That A Southwest Airlines Ad Is Likely To Cause "confusion, deception and mistake"

Southwest Airlines and its agency, GSD&M Idea City, are being sued by the folks who own the TV show The Price is Right.

The owner of the legendary TV game show, FremantleMedia, claim that the agency used a song similar to the hit game show's The Price Is Right for a Southwest Airlines TV ad. The lawsuit asserts that the advertising "is likely to cause confusion, deception and mistake" among consumers.

Well, in advertising, that's a bigger crime than plagiarism!

Brandweek reports that the TV, called "Spin & Win," portrays a hurried passenger approaching an airline counter to ask about his flight. Two attendants launch into game show mode and the passenger is asked by the attendants to spin a wheel for a shot to win a seat on a larger plane. Meanwhile, a variation of "The Price Is Right" theme song plays. "On Southwest, you'll never fly on a small plane," the narrator says. "We guarantee that every seat on every flight is on a big, comfortable Boeing 737."