Earworms: Music in Commercials

[OriginalCyn]

I figured I'd start a thread on this topic as music in ads is a big deal these days - sometimes it's an iconic pop or classic rock song that gives it new life, or it can create hit songs, launch an unknown artist into the stratosphere, and spark downloads a-plenty from iTunes.

They also, unfortunately, are often atrocious, and those, all too often, wind up stuck on a mental repeat button in the brain and can make a sane person stabby in record time.

I developed a seething hatred for Icona Pop's "I Don't Care (I Love It) after it was used for countless product ads as well as several promo trailers for TV shows (Rizzoli and Isles being one I can recall right off the bat).  Christmas Season 2010 introduced the world to  Pomplamoose, whose obnoxious renditions of Oh Come All Ye Faithful, Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, and Up on the Housetop  to hawk Hyundai automobiles assaulted eardrums across the globe.

[Lola16]

One that I like (and haven't grown tired of yet) is the Target ad for Peter Pilotto:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEEsJQzSMbM

I went to YouTube and found the original music video for that song. OMG, it's frightening!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_p-gacgSns

Edited March 31, 2014 by Lola16

[Rogaine2233]

Great thread!

Sometimes, classic rock songs really make a commercial and sometimes they blow it. And sometimes it's the same band but a different advertiser that makes that difference.

For instance, I mentioned this ad in the "favorite commercials" thread, but the use of "Sympathy For a The Devil" in the Mercedes ad was just awesome.

But earlier, Pepsi used the Stones' "Brown Sugar" which really showed how dumb the execs are because yes, Pepsi is brown and sweet, but you mean to tell me no one at the company or the agency figured out the song was about drugs?

Edited March 31, 2014 by Rogaine2233

[Lola16]

What grits my teeth are the ads with off key singing - like it's supposed to be cute and quirky and not just sucky.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHaeb0O5Oug

In the scene where she cries in the car, I got a distinct That Girl vibe.  Wonder if that was what the agency was going for?

[Callasin]

I despise that Belvita commercial!  That song drives me nuts and gets stuck in my head. 

Another one I hate for the bad song is for Nutella.  I used to think the mom who went on about how healthy it was on wheat toast with it's "hint of cocoa" was bad.  My roomate and I would yell at the tv that of course the kids are going to eat it because it's chocolate. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RCx3HPpuGE

[AimingforYoko]

I like the Target ad with "Forever" by Haim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpFbuJfj7rU

[Jess Sayin]

 

I despise that Belvita commercial!  That song drives me nuts and gets stuck in my head.

Same here.  I literally lunge for the mute button when that commercial comes on.  In fact, that's pretty much my reaction to many of the commercial jingles that are out there!

[Veruca Assault]

As much as I'm still slightly weirded out by the Framily, I do love the version of this song. Guess if sung in French, hair band songs sound exotic.

http://youtu.be/h5A1OsCsaz4

[janie jones]

Do they not still use that jingle?

[Callasin]

"Bite bite, sip sip that's the mambo combo"  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH get it out of my head!  Curse you Little Caesars!

[riley702]

OMG, yes, Callasin! Quite the catchy earworm.

Bite bite, sip sip, that's what makes the combo. Bite bite, Sip sip, do the DEEP!DEEP! Dish Combo Mambo. For lunch!

Edited April 9, 2014 by riley702

[Prevailing Wind]

Now there's a snack bar - I think it's Fiber One - using "Total Eclipse of the Heart" - not so much a song to get stuck on your mental jukebox, but definitely a barf-inducing one.

[janie jones]

I think it makes my husband mad how much I love the deep-dish combo mambo.  One time we were flipping through the channels, and we saw it in Spanish on one of the Spanish channels and it filled me with so much joy.

[bilgistic]

One that I like (and haven't grown tired of yet) is the Target ad for Peter Pilotto:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEEsJQzSMbM

I went to YouTube and found the original music video for that song. OMG, it's frightening!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_p-gacgSns

I have serious love for this song because it was one I learned a dance to back in high school when I went to dance camp (for dance/drill team). Thanks for the memories!

[bilgistic]

I like the music in this commercial for Reebok's new tennies, but having just watched the commercial more closely, it's ridiculous. "Supermodel" Miranda Kerr walks in the house presumably after her workout and doesn't lock the door behind her and strips naked in front of an open window, then gets into the shower with her shoes on, which is the premise of the commercial. The shoes are so comfy, you'll forget you're wearing them, which, no. Sneakers are terrible IMO, and I never forget I'm wearing them. Anyway, I have no idea who does the song; it's reggae.

[janie jones]

Oh god that is so dumb it pisses me off.  First of all, what kind of slob leaves a trail of clothes across the house?  Her, apparently.  I notice that the house in general is tidy, so I hope it's not someone else who has to pick up after her.  Second of all, even if the shoes are that freaking comfortable, there's no way you'd be able to get those spandex leggings or her undewear off over them. 

[bilgistic]

janie jones, thank you for noticing even more stupid stuff than I did. This is why I love dissecting commercials with you all. Y'all crack me up.

I still enjoy the "bohm-bohm" song, but yeah, the commercial is dumb. I'm irrationally mad at Miranda Kerr for her perfect ass that Reebok felt absolutely necessary to show us.

[smittykins]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDa8yj69t9w

[MrsEVH]

I'm old school and liked it when commercials (back in the day) had their OWN jingles. Too many today use classic rock songs that have nothing to do with the product. The worst one was using Rick James "Give It to me "( about sex) for a Burger King whopper ad. Maybe the ad people are just too lazy to think up of something new and original.

[lachesis]

Whatever song TPTB used for the Devious Maids promos sets my teeth on edge. That saxophone tempo grates.

[Prevailing Wind]

 

Maybe the ad people are just too lazy to think up of something new and original.

No, they're too cheap to hire a struggling songwriter to write something new and original.  I always thought it was odd that on 'Two and Half Men'', Charlie's lucrative job was writing jingles.  Who uses jingles anymore, especially ones that would pay so well?

[Callasin]

Is this the Devious Maids song?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaXNglaO7YI

[lachesis]

YES that's the one! Nails on chalkboard.

[Rinaldo]

No, they're too cheap to hire a struggling songwriter to write something new and original.

It's not a matter of "cheap" -- licensing a well-known song for an ad campaign is far more expensive. But it's safer for some ad exec: a new composition may or may not catch on, but an existing song has fans already. Even if it doesn't work out in the new context, the exec can still cover his ass with "it's not my fault, I chose a proven song." So, more than cheap, they're scared to be original.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Rinaldo

[friendperidot]

There's an ad for Panera Bread that has a song that goes something like "Let kaoijndaljd kaoilkdahi lhaud hiuen" At least that's what I hear, I've never understood the lyrics, it's just a mumbled, jumbled mess.

[bilgistic]

I don't know what the commercial's for because I lunge for the mute button on the remote control and avert my gaze from the TV when this commercial comes on. The song is, "Gigantic, gigantic, gigantic!" repeated in the song during the commercial. It is one of the ear-bleedingly worst things I've ever heard, and it makes me wonder about the poor saps who had to edit the commercial together and hear that horrible noise over and over. It must be stopped, and I must boycott whatever they're selling, but I refuse to watch the commercial to find out what that is.

[Rick Kitchen]

Gigantic is by the group The Pixies.  It's about a guy with a large hunk of love meat.  Seriously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyusamv0kwg

[lachesis]

Ugh, that song,,, gigaaaaaantic gigaaaantic gigaaaaaa-kill it with fire!! I have issues with repetitive sounds and that kind of crap doesn't help.

[Prevailing Wind]

I think it's for the iPhone5.  Thanks, but if that's its major feature, I'll pass, gigantic or not.

[bilgistic]

Gigantic is by the group The Pixies.  It's about a guy with a large hunk of love meat.  Seriously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyusamv0kwg

I love how advertisers think absolutely nothing about the original song's meaning.

 

That original version is not nearly as nails-on-chalkboard bad as the commercial version.

Edited May 1, 2014 by bilgistic

[Lola16]

I hate that iPhone commercial.

 

 I wouldn't be too sure that the Ad Execs don't know the meaning of the songs.  I'd say it's more the client that doesn't know.  Like when the animators used to sneak in sex scenes in Disney cartoons.

[midge]

I hate that iPhone commercial.

 

 I wouldn't be too sure that the Ad Execs don't know the meaning of the songs.  I'd say it's more the client that doesn't know.  Like when the animators used to sneak in sex scenes in Disney cartoons.

Me too!   It took me more then a dozen tortured viewing to even realize that blond girl at the end was singing in English.   I swore it was Japanese.  

 

So not only was I irritated I  felt curmudgeonly "That damn hippee music!  It's just noise!"  <<shakes cane in frustration>>

[Lola16]

This commercial gets me hitting the mute button every time:

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMgo14M2OyA

 

Slow sappy kids harmonizing a crappy Beach Boys tune.  Blergh.

Edited June 2, 2014 by Lola16

[janie jones]

Slow sappy kids harmonizing a crappy Beach Boys tune.  Blergh.

It's creepy!  It should be in a horror movie.

[riley702]

Eyebrows don't come back that fast. Just sayin'

[00redsvt]

I just really hate the Farmers Only dotcom commercials. The jingle is the least of its problems.

[Amethyst]

Apple is usually pretty good with their music, so whoever thought that awful Gigantic song was a good idea needs to go back to the drawing board.  It is grating, to say the least. 

 

When I heard this new commercial for the iPad, I knew I recognized that music.  It's part of the musical score from The Vow.  I think it's lovely and fits the mood of the commercial.

 

Cherie's Verse:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbXYqHke9n8

Edited June 6, 2014 by Amethyst

[Sun-Bun]

What's up with chicks who sing in that deliberately twee, affected "quirky" hipster-style voice on commercial jingles now?

It's like nails on chalkboard to me!!!

And now I'm starting to wonder if it's one particular female jingle-singer singing on a variety of commercials just terrorizing my eardrums.

Anyone know what I'm talking about? I don't even remember the name/product of the recent commercial, but it's some chick singing to the tune of "Twinkle-Twinkle-Little-Star" using that annoying "sparkle-jazz" hipster vocal style. It still haunts me, obviously.

[bilgistic]

It's creepy! It should be in a horror movie.

It *is* for "pediatric hospice" (which I didn't know was a thing until this reading this thread, but I really wonder why they need to advertise).

[beadgirl]

 

What's up with chicks who sing in that deliberately twee, affected "quirky" hipster-style voice on commercial jingles now?

Hate.  Especially when they mangle grammar, like that idiotic "I think the sun might be shining just a little more bright / I think the stars might be hanging just a little more high."  Brightly!  Higher!  GAH.

[friendperidot]

"Go you chicken fat, go"?

[Eliot]

What's up with chicks who sing in that deliberately twee, affected "quirky" hipster-style voice on commercial jingles now?

It's like nails on chalkboard to me!!!

And now I'm starting to wonder if it's one particular female jingle-singer singing on a variety of commercials just terrorizing my eardrums.

Anyone know what I'm talking about? I don't even remember the name/product of the recent commercial, but it's some chick singing to the tune of "Twinkle-Twinkle-Little-Star" using that annoying "sparkle-jazz" hipster vocal style. It still haunts me, obviously.

 

OMG, yes, a billion times yes! I, too, keep thinking it's the same chick who's just been hired over and over again and I want to find her and kill her.

Edited June 10, 2014 by Eliot

[Tunia]

The new Chrysler ad has Bob Dylan's Things Have Changed as its backdrop - one of my all-time fav Dylan songs, originally written for The Wonder Boys (2000).  Researching the new ad brought me back to last February's Superbowl ad, presented here for your enjoyment!

 

"So let Germany brew your beer.

Let Switzerland make your watch.

Let Asia assemble your phone.

WE will build your car."

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlSn8Isv-3M

Edited June 10, 2014 by Tunia

[CoderLady]

What's up with chicks who sing in that deliberately twee, affected "quirky" hipster-style voice on commercial jingles now?

It's like nails on chalkboard to me!!!

And now I'm starting to wonder if it's one particular female jingle-singer singing on a variety of commercials just terrorizing my eardrums.

 

Is the the "Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh" shit that makes it sound like the singer couldn't bother to learn the lyrics? I'll start lighting the torches and passing out pitchforks if so.

Edited June 10, 2014 by CoderLady

[AntiBeeSpray]

I just got the song "The look, the feel of cotton, the fabric of our lives"... stuck in my head somehow O_o.

[Lola16]

This commercial borrows songs from 3 decades.  Hang in there, it's worth the inevitable earworm:

 

[potatoradio]

"Get the skinny, get the scoop! Get the lowwwwwwwwdowwwwwwwwwwwwwn"

 

Support your local earworm and buy furniture from Slumberland. This earworm is locally produced, but it's so insidious I found myself bopping my head along when I hear it and then, at work, stuck in g*dawful meetings all day, I'm suddenly singing it to myself (in my silent indoor voice, of course). It's fun to secretly serenade an office blowhard and hope that somehow, by magic, they, too, get the joy of this earworm stuck deep, deep in their brains. 

 

Doesn't help that they run the stupid commercial twice in a row for double the listening pleasure.

 

[Tunia]

An oldie that used to drive me nuts:  "Looks like a pump; feels like a sneaker."

I'd go to bed with that in my head and be awake half the night.  Damn - tonight's not looking good now...

[meep.meep]

"Go you chicken fat, go"?

 

I've been cracking up over this ad.  Because I am as old as dirt, I remember when each elementary school classroom had a copy of this record.  During inclement weather, the teacher would play it and the class would follow the instructions and exercise instead of going out for recess.

 

Chicken Fat, it was a thing.

[Lola16]

"Go you chicken fat, go"?

 

I've been cracking up over this ad.  Because I am as old as dirt, I remember when each elementary school classroom had a copy of this record.  During inclement weather, the teacher would play it and the class would follow the instructions and exercise instead of going out for recess.

 

Chicken Fat, it was a thing.

There's a clip over in favorite commercials if you want it stuck in your head.

 

I'm still waiting for someone to explain why 'chicken' why not 'cow'?  must be a generational thing.