The estate of legendary country music artist Johnny Cash is taking soft drink giant Coca-Cola to court for allegedly exploiting his likeness in advertisements without permission.
The lawsuit, filed in Tennessee, claimed the company hired a Cash tribute singer for the vocal track of a United States-wide campaign named “Fan Work is Thirsty Work”.
The ad was released for the NCAA college football season this year.
The lawsuit claimed the company pirated a version of one of the most “legendary and distinctive voices in the history of music” to “enrich itself”, the Independent reported.
According to the suit, obtained by the outlet, the company did so “without asking for permission or providing any compensation to the humble man and artist who created the goodwill from which Coca-Cola now profits.”
In the advertisement, a recording of a singer, who sounds “remarkably” like Cash, plays while fans are drinking Coca-Cola drinks, the suit states.
The tribute singer was hired through an advertising agency, and later claimed in a social media post that the ad was intended to “draw upon the goodwill associated with the voice of Johnny Cash”, the lawsuit claimed, according to the Independent.
Consumers of the ad were tricked into believing the Cash estate endorsed the products, the lawsuit claimed, according to Reuters.
Cash’s estate owns all rights to his name, image, likeness and voice, the Independent reported.
Named as “the trust” in the suit, the estate said Coca-Cola knew it needed a licence to use the name, image, likeness, and voice of artists and musicians for advertising purposes.
Cash has sold more than 90 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time.
Hit’s like I Walk The Line, Ring of Fire and Hurt cemented his name in music history.
He has been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.