The estate of legendary singer Johnny Cash has filed a lawsuit against Coca-Cola, accusing the soft drink company of using an unauthorized imitation of his distinctive voice in a national advertising campaign, TV news affiliate WKRA reported on Wednesday.
The lawsuit states that Cash "has one of the most legendary and distinctive voices in the history of music" and claims Coca-Cola used a pirated version of his voice in a "nationwide advertising campaign to enrich itself."
In the lawsuit, Cash's trust noted that the recently passed ELVIS Act protects artists from unauthorized commercial use of their voice and artificial intelligence.
The trust asserts Coca-Cola violated the ELVIS Act intentionally, fraudulently, maliciously, and/or recklessly and estimated the damages to exceed $75,000, according to WKRA.
The trust stated that since Cash's death in 2003, it has only licensed his voice on two occasions, both for Super Bowl advertisements.
The Coca-Cola advertisement in question was part of a campaign for the 2025 NCAA college football season depicting fans drinking the company's beverages synced to a recording of a man singing that sounds "remarkably like the voice of Johnny Cash," according to the lawsuit.
Cash's trust said that Coca-Cola commissioned an advertising agency, which hired a Johnny Cash tribute singer to record the vocal track for the ad and trick consumers into believing it was Cash's actual voice.
According to the lawsuit, the tribute singer posted on social media that the purpose of the ad was to "draw upon the goodwill associated with the voice of Johnny Cash."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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