Why buy the cow when you can just make your own milk? Opel, a General Motors Company, didn't even question using an imitation of American music icon Tom Waits's voice in a Scandinavian television commercial. Waits already has an extensive history battling the copycats: Frito-Lay faked his voice for a radio ad in 1988 (he sued and won $2.6 million); Audi used an impersonator for a Spanish ad in 2000 (he litigated in '04, no verdict yet); and last year Lancia, an Italian car company, used a soundalike for a cover of West Side Story's "Somewhere" (no lawsuit could be found at time of publishing). "If I stole an Opel, Lancia, or Audi, put my name on it and resold it, I'd go to jail," said Waits in a recent press release. He went on to say that contributing music to a commercial is "like having a cow's udder sewn to the side of my face." Chew on that, Opel.
