Tom Waits issued an entertaining, but serious, statement this week in response to Opel’s unsanctioned use of music that too closely resembles his own. And since no one on earth sounds anything like Waits, except maybe Leonard Cohen on a bender, Waits likely has a solid legal case.
“In answer to the many queries I have received: No, I did not do the Opel car commercial currently running on TV in Scandinavia. I have a long-standing policy against my voice or music being used in commercials and I have lawyers over there investigating my options. But I got to tell you, it doesn’t look good. This is the third car ad, after Audi in Spain and Lancia in Italy.
“If I stole an Opel, Lancia, or Audi, put my name on it and resold it, I’d go to jail. But over there they ask, you say no, and they hire impersonators. They profit from the association and I lose — time, money, and credibility. What’s that about?
“Commercials are an unnatural use of my work … it’s like having a cow’s udder sewn to the side of my face. Painful and humiliating.”
Thanks to Adfreak for the pointer.
