Despite Song In Commercial Being Original, Johnny Cash’s Estate Alleges The Sound Is Too Similar To That Of The “The Man In Black”
If you’ve been enjoying football season, you may have seen a commercial that has become the center of a lawsuit.
Back in August, Coca-Cola released a commercial dubbed “Go The Distance,” which is part of its “Fan Work Is Thirsty Work” campaign.
In it, fans of a variety of teams can be seen advancing through crowds who are rooting for the opposing team… all while a cold Coke unites them in the shared experience of enjoying football.
Serving as the soundtrack for this advertisement is a retro-sounding country tune.
This song, according to Johnny Cash‘s estate, is allegedly too comparable to Cash. As a result, the estate has sued Coca-Cola to “protect the voice of Johnny Cash.”
Read About The Lawsuit And Watch The Commercial
In 2024, the state of Tennessee approved the ELVIS Act, which is an apt acronym standing for Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act.
The law expands upon the state’s existing Protection of Personal Rights, with TN Gov. Bill Lee signing the ELVIS Act for its “protections for songwriters, performers, and music industry professionals’ voice from the misuse of artificial intelligence.”
According to the state, “Tennessee’s music industry supports more than 61,617 jobs across the state, contributes $5.8 billion to our GDP, and fills over 4,500 music venues.”
The John R. Cash Revocable Trust, which manages the estate of Johnny Cash, filed a federal complaint against Coca-Cola on November 25, citing the “Go The Distance” commercial as featuring a song that sounds “remarkably” similar to Cash, Rolling Stone reported.
Cash’s estate goes as far as alleging that his voice was “pirated.”
The complaint states, “This case arises from Coca-Cola’s pirating Johnny Cash’s voice in a nationwide advertising campaign to enrich itself — without asking for permission or providing any compensation to the humble man and artist who created the goodwill from which Coca-Cola now profits.”
A lawyer for Cash’s estate, named Tim Warnock of Loeb & Loeb, wrote:
“Stealing the voice of an artist is theft. It is theft of his integrity, identity and humanity. The trust brings this lawsuit to protect the voice of Johnny Cash — and to send a message that protects the voice of all of the artists whose music enriches our lives.”
However, the lawsuit doesn’t claim that A.I. was used, which is one of the central tenets of the ELVIS Act.
Instead, the lawsuit identifies Shawn Barker as the singer of the song in the commercial. Barker is a professional Cash tribute artist, whose look and sound has made him a popular impersonator of the late “Man In Black.”
On his instagram, Barker wrote of the commercial’s release in late August, “So proud to be the voice of the new Coca-Cola campaign for college football this season.”
Further, the song Barker sings is not by Cash, but is instead original to the Coca-Cola commercial.
As the first major case after the passing of the ELVIS ACT, Cash’s estate hopes to remove the ad from airing while seeking “financial damages over alleged violations of Cash’s rights under the ELVIS Act, among seeking other damages,” Rolling Stone noted.
Watch the commercial and decide for yourself if the song goes too far, here:
Watch Shawn Barker perform “I Walk The Line” as Johnny Cash, here:
