Very odd. How unique is Mr. Waits' voice anyway? Is the impersonator that close to the famous Waits husky diction? I'd have to hear the ad in question. And 'violating personality rights' is a curious statute. Interesting.
The legendary Tom Waits has filed a suit against General Motors' Opel and the well-known advertising agency McCann Erickson. The suit was filed in Frankfurt, Germany, where a series of car commercials have been airing with voiceovers that impersonate Mr. Waits.
“Apparently,” Waits said, “the highest compliment our culture grants artists nowadays is to be in an ad -- ideally naked and purring on the hood of a new car. I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor. Currently accepting in my absence is my German doppelganger. While the court can't make me active in radio, I am asking it to make me radioactive to advertisers.”
In the past Waits has been approached in regards to participating in the advertisements, but refused. The lawsuit states that apparantly after it was made clear that Waits has a long-standing policy against doing commercials, the defendents went ahead and hired a soundalike singer to imitate the husky voiced musician.
The commercials, which were produced in Germany, aired throughout Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway in late winter and early spring of this year.
The suit mainly charges the defendants with violating Waits' personality rights under German law. Waits seeks recovery from defendants' ill-gotten gains, including their profits. This action is supported by a recent German case involving misuse of the iconic Marlene Dietrich's personality rights.
IGN: Tom Waits Takes On General Motors:
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