The Michelin Man and the Gorilla
Image by Gorillaz Demon Days album cover
I've always loved music. I've DJ'ed in several capacities: at multiple weddings, at a classic rock radio station and at two separate college radio stations. But when I picked up my TV-and-Internet-at-the-same-time habit, I gave up a lot of my music listening activities.
You may have read an earlier article about giving up an indulgent TV-and-Internet-at-the-same-time habit. A side benefit? I have rediscovered listening to music in my freetime. And I have had time to write an article that ties my music passion back to my dayjob.
My taste in music is odd. It is either independent label rock (indie rock) or the sugary-est most popular pop music that is currently on the radio (yes, I LOVE the Black Eyed Peas - judge away). Over the years, I've noticed that people with my taste in indie music work in advertising.
The Sea and Cake and Citibank encouraged us to spend our money wisely in 2009.
The Magnetic Fields have helped advertisers sell diamonds (Helzberg diamonds early 2000) and dog food (Cesar dog food commercial in 2006).
In 2006 Of Montreal encouraged us to go Outback tonight. (This commercial was played so often I had to add some additional Of Montreal albums to my collection)
My latest discovery? A song very similar to a Gorillaz song has appeared in a Michelin Man commercial.
I unapologetically love this. The indie bands get to make some money, without selling out. And advertisers and most TV-commercial consumers get to hear great music on commercials without screwing with our memories (an article by Todd that discusses the use of popular songs on TV commercials).
Comments
Lincoln is a big promoter of indie music. In fact, I believe Lincoln is somehow trying to rebrand themselves to be more appealing to a younger generation (sorry, Lincoln, young people don't have any desire to drive a boat on the road) by using incredible indie music in their ads. I'm thinking specifically of "Major Tom" by Shiny Toy Guns. If I'm not mistaken, another ad used "Help, I'm Alive" by Metric...but I could be wrong on that.
Didn't know you were such a big music fan! Love finding people like you :)
If Shiny Toy Guns keeps putting out fantastic remakes of my favorite songs, I may be forced to buy a Lincoln. Along with the song "Space Oddity" as mentioned by Lydia, they've also done a great version of the Church's "Under the Milky Way" for another Lincoln TV spot. Unfortunately, neither song has been released yet,
But, there have been occasions when I've been disappointed that songs became television ads. "Trouble" by Ray Lamontagne is a great song, but when I heard it in an ad for Travelers Insurance, I wasn't too psyched.
On the other hand, I've also been disappointed when I've heard a great song in an ad and discovered it was written specifically for advertising. "Fly Me Away" by Annie Little is the sweetest little song, and it was written just for the Kindle ad.
I forgot about the Nick Drake/AT&T commercial that is on the TV non-stop these days. www.youtube.com
@DaveMinella - We're just not used to Ad Agencies and bands collaborating to write catchy little jingles for ads. It used to be the mainstream.
The song Forever by Chris Brown was actually written for DoubleMint gum. It has the line "double your pleasure, double your fun" in it. It was a trick. online.wsj.com
Virginia:
I do love "Forever," and the first time I heard it, I asked, "Did he just say double your pleasure"?
Nick Drake. Yes. Another great songwriter whose music really conveys the emotional connections advertisers try to establish with potential customers. I'd never even heard his music until a few years ago when Honda launched the Element. They used Drake's "Pink Moon" in the first TV spot, and I looked him up right after.
Another band I learned about through car commercials is the Walkmen. Their song "We've Been Had" was featured in a Saturn Ion TV spot in 2003.
I apologize for hijacking your comment section, but what a great blog post. It's good to know I'm not the only ad nerd who thinks about things like this.
OMG! I loved that Element commercial. I am a big Nick Drake fan AND a big Honda fan. There was a commercial several years ago for VW that had a song - I think by Marvin Gaye - that used to make me cry.
Hijack away! :)
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