Coca-Cola has found itself at the center of another controversy.
What happened?
Coca-Cola is the subject of a lawsuit for the unauthorized use of Johnny Cash's signature sound and singing style for a national advertising campaign
According to Fox Nebraska, Johnny Cash's estate is suing the global brand for its 2025 NCAA college football ad campaign, which featured the the slogan "Fan Work is Thirsty Work" and a male country vocalist singing in a low, deep, and calm style, reminiscent of the country music legend's signature sound.
Rolling Stone identified the vocal performer as Shawn Barker, who is a professional Cash imitator.
Although the song used in the ad campaign seems to be an original, Cash's estate has accused Coca-Cola of exploiting and profiting from Cash's recognizable sound, which, the estate claims, helped expand the reach of the beverage giant's ad campaign.
Coca-Cola had not received permission from Cash's estate to reproduce the singer's voice, which the lawsuit asserts violates Tennessee's ELVIS Act, short for Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act.
This Tennessee law protects an artist against the unauthorized commercial use of their voice, name, image, and likeness.
Given the circumstances surrounding Coca-Cola's ad campaign, Cash's estate contended that the company "intentionally, fraudulently, maliciously, and/or recklessly" violated the ELVIS Act. It is thus suing Coca-Cola for more than $75,000 in damages.
Why is this lawsuit important?
Coca-Cola's alleged violation of and disregard for a legislative act protecting an artist's work and image is a prime example of how the company prioritizes business profits over the "right" choice when faced with an ethical dilemma.
The company had not received permission to use Cash's voice or signature sound. Yet it contracted a professional Cash impersonator to execute the ad campaign, ultimately to increase sales.
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Definitely 👍 This isn't the first time that Coca-Cola has sidestepped legal regulations to turn a profit.
The company has come under fire for joining Americans for Ingredient Transparency, a group that would streamline ingredient labeling by establishing a federal standard, weakening individual states' abilities to pass stricter regulations on food ingredients and keeping consumers in the dark about what's in their food.
Meanwhile, legislators in Mexico proposed a new law that would raise the tax on soft and sugary drinks from one peso to three pesos — an increase of about $0.16.
To challenge this policy measure, Coca-Cola, represented by the Mexican Association of Beverages and the National Association of Small Merchants, has falsely asserted that such regulations have no demonstrated benefit. However, the regulation has already reduced sugar and soft drink sales.
In addition to being one of the world's leading branded plastic polluters, Coca-Cola has demonstrated its propensity to wield its power and influence as a leading industry player to manipulate situations to benefit the company and business profits.
What has Coca-Cola done to strengthen its sustainability commitment?
Although Coca-Cola has received significant backlash due to some of its questionable company actions, it has also taken steps to move towards more sustainable business operations.
Coca-Cola HBC Austria has announced a new sustainable six-pack packaging for its 1.5-liter bottles, made from recyclable paper and cardboard.
Coca-Cola has also made progress on a water-reuse project in Greece, introducing new technology that would help recover, clean, and reuse water used and lost during operations.
These efforts to move towards a more sustainable future, however, are undermined by business decisions that clearly prioritize profits over ethical choices, such as ones for the social good. Coca-Cola still has a long way to go to rectify its past missteps.
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