Waits, GM settle voice impersonation suit

FRANKFURT, Germany, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. singer Tom Waits settled his German lawsuit filed against General Motors' German division and its ad agency he said impersonated his voice in overseas ads.

Waits said Opel and the McCann Erickson agency used what he called a "perfect impersonation" of his distinctive voice in a series of ads, Eonline.com said.

In his suit, filed in Frankfort in 2005, Waits claimed the commercials featuring the similar voice aired after he rejected a series of offers from the car company.

McCann Erickson originally said that the Frankfurt-based singer used in the ads provided a "rough voice interpretation" and was not instructed to impersonate either Waits or any other singer. McCann also said that Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler was the only American singer approached for the gig.

Terms of the settlement weren't disclosed, but Waits said he would donate it to charity.

"I'm glad to be out of the car sales business once and for all," he said.

Waits has a history of suing advertisers for using his voice to sell products. He took Frito-Lay to court, accusing the it of ripping off his voice for a Doritos ad, and was awarded $2.5 million.