A bizarre Heineken ad featuring Spock ended in a lawsuit filed by Leonard Nimoy

The Daring Crew of the Starship Business must be prepared to go boldly where no other man has gone before him. But Star Trek Icon Leonard Nimoy was unwilling to appear in a Heineken commercial, especially a suggestive one that was made without his consent.

Nimoy originated the role of Spock in the 1966 original Star Trek series and would take up the pointy-eared mantle again and again until 2013 for Star Trek: Into Darkness. Paramount owns the rights to Star Trek since he purchased it from a surprising source, and it was to the studio that Nimoy aired his grievances when he discovered he was featured in a Heineken commercial as Spock without ever granting his permission – or receiving compensation.

Leonard Nimoy was more surprised than anyone to see his Spock in a Heineken ad

No one was more shocked than Nimoy to learn that his face, disguised entirely as Spock, was being used to promote Heineken. He found out little by little. Nimoy went to a bar, where the bartender asked him, “You want a Heineken, don’t you?”

At the time, Nimoy wasn’t sure why the bartender had made that assumption; perhaps it was a favorite drink of the locals. Either way, he said no, grabbed his favorite drink, and left.

Then, while talking with Henry Fonda, Nimoy was asked how much he was paid for all the Star Trek-Heineken-themed billboards. What billboards? The billboards all over town showing a close-up of Spock’s face; his pointy ears begin to droop until he takes a big swig of the drink in question and they are able to straighten up.

Time for retaliation

It turned out that Nimoy received no compensation for the advertisement; he was never contacted and never gave his consent to have his image used in this manner. Details of Nimoy’s ordeal were revealed in For the Love of Spocka documentary released by his son in 2016, in honor of Star Trek50th anniversary and remembering Nimoy one year after his death.

In response to the ad campaign, Nimoy sued Paramount, which owned the rights to Star Trek since purchasing the rights from none other than Desilu Studios – the brainchild of television pioneers Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz – in the ’70s; it would only have happened because the studio approved it.

The case embittered the courtroom, refusing to go quietly into the night for either side, long enough for Star Trek: The MovieNimoy refused to participate while his trial was ongoing. This proved to be the key to moving the negotiations forward; he agreed to look at the script as long as they reached an agreement. Shortly thereafter, Nimoy received a settlement check, and a copy of the final script arrived shortly afterward.