The estate of late country legend Johnny Cash has filed a lawsuit against The Coca-Cola Company, claiming they “unlawfully exploited” the singer’s voice in a television commercial released this fall.
Fox 11 reports that the complaint was filed in Tennessee on Nov. 25, and centers around the use of a singer and original song that bears remarkable resemblance to Cash’s own voice and musical sound.
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Cash’s estate claims that Coca-Cola did not ask permission before publishing its ad campaign, and that the company knowingly tricked viewers into believing that the song in the ad was sung by Cash himself.
The estate is seeking to remove the ad from the air, as well as $75,000 in damages.
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“This case arises from Coca-Cola’s pirating Johnny Cash’s voice in a nationwide advertising campaign to enrich itself,” the complaint reads, “without asking for permission or providing any compensation to the humble man and artist who created the goodwill from which Coca-Cola now profits.”
The Coca-Cola Ad at the Center of a Lawsuit From Johnny Cash’s Estate
The Coca-Cola ad, titled “Go the Distance,” was published to YouTube on Aug. 20.
- Per The Guardian, the singer in the ad is Shawn Barker, a professional Johnny Cash impersonator.
- Barker has been performing with his Cash tribute for “over two decades,” according to his manager.
- Coca-Cola released the new ad as part of their college football ad campaign.
The documents cite several instances of fans commenting on social media that they initially thought the voice in the commercial was Cash himself.
Though the song used wasn’t a Cash song, many fans thought the music and voice were so similar, it could have easily been an unreleased or unheard track from the late singer.
“Stealing the voice of an artist is theft,” said Cash estate lawyer Tim Warnock, according to the Guardian.
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“It is theft of his integrity, identity and humanity,” Warnock continued. “The trust brings this lawsuit to protect the voice of Johnny Cash — and to send a message that protects the voice of all artists whose music enriches our lives.”
The Case Was Filed Under a New Act Aiming to Protect Artists
The suit was filed under Tennessee’s ELVIS Act, which was signed into law in 2024.
Short for the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act, the bill heightened the state’s legal protections for their “name, photograph or likeness,” according to Rolling Stone.
Much of the conversation around the ELVIS Act involved artists’ desire to protect themselves from AI misuse.
Luke Bryan and Chris Janson were among the artists present to celebrate when Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed the ELVIS act into law at downtown honky-tonk Robert’s Western World in March 2024.
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Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker