Unlike Nokia, Rainn Wilson doesn’t exactly think imitation is the best form of flattery.
You see, Wilson, who played “Dwight” on NBC’s The Office, has a little problem with Amazon’s newest TV spot.
The 47-year-old Seattle native runs a website called SoulPancake.com as a hip place for people to discuss and think about topics like spirituality, faith, and philosophy.
SoulPancake ran its own ad in June titled “Conversation Couch,” which featured random passers-by on the street talking about “life’s big questions” on a couch. They’ve published a few follow-up videos on the same couch with different interviewees.
Somewhat similarly, Amazon’s new Kindle ad involved strangers also talking on a couch, albeit about the Kindle and not prayers, God or love.
Wilson didn’t like it:
Congrats @Amazon & @AmazonKindle 4 totally ripping off @SoulPancake in their new ad: http://t.co/4fVmmeTpPP. [See: http://t.co/menwGNWJz4].
— RainnWilson (@rainnwilson) October 7, 2013
Now, as AllThingsD notes, the idea of putting a couch on the street for promotional intentions isn’t all that novel. Several people on Twitter responded to Wilson and directed him to this Kleenex ad:
So yes, Rainn, it’s possible someone at Amazon saw “Conversation Couch,” and thought it’d be a good way to tout the new Kindle Paperwhite. Thankfully for Amazon, though, it doesn’t look like anyone — SoulPancake included— has patented that idea quite yet.
