Earworms: Music in Commercials

[Colleenna]

Speaking of inappropriate music in commercials.... Several years ago there was an ad for headphones that used Hozier's "Take Me to Church" in their commercial. I was like "Ummmm, really?"  You have to wonder if those adholes knew anything about the song other than a catchy tune. 

[janie jones]

I feel like you can put any song in a commercial for headphones, though.  Hey, use these headphones to listen to that indictment of the Catholic Church.

[Colleenna]

13 hours ago, janie jones said:

I feel like you can put any song in a commercial for headphones, though.  Hey, use these headphones to listen to that indictment of the Catholic Church.

Ummm, that's not what that song is about. 

[janie jones]

15 hours ago, Colleenna said:

Ummm, that's not what that song is about. 

"Growing up, I always saw the hypocrisy of the Catholic church", Hozier said in an interview with Rolling Stone. "The history speaks for itself and I grew incredibly frustrated and angry. I essentially just put that into my words."

[AimingforYoko]

T-Mobile, using the criminally underrated "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses.

[Rinaldo]

There's a Johnnie Walker commercial in which a father-of-the-bride talks about preparing to play "her favorite song" for the past year, and then plays Debussy's "Clair de lune":

I'll leaving aside calling a long instrumental piece a song, because I lost that battle years ago (and I'm retired from music teaching, so I no longer have a place to fight it). But if he's been practicing for a year, how did he learn a blatant wrong note in the second measure? (The piece gets hard later on, but not at that early point.) It doesn't speak well for how much he cares about it or her.

[Bastet]

9 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

But if he's been practicing for a year, how did he learn a blatant wrong note in the second measure? (The piece gets hard later on, but not at that early point.) It doesn't speak well for how much he cares about it or her.

Looking at the dates on the bottle, he's only been practicing a little over five months, but he could have practiced for five years and still screwed up a note when the time came because he was nervous (he takes that big sigh before starting).  I don't think it says anything about how much he cares for his daughter.

[Prevailing Wind]

I used to have a record of Anthony Newley singing Clair de Lune, so somewhere along the line, SOMEbody put lyrics to it.

[Rinaldo]

20 hours ago, Bastet said:

I don't think it says anything about how much he cares for his daughter.

In real life, I too of course would be touched by the father's gesture and wouldn't care about any mistakes. But this isn't real life. Every detail in a commercial is planned to the Nth degree; the wrong note must have been approved by everyone down the line. So it was included either because nobody cared (bad) or because they believed in the pernicious equation "mistakes prove sincerity." (Whereas I would say that, if anything, the opposite is true.)

[Ashforth]

On 12/6/2019 at 12:40 PM, Rinaldo said:

There's a Johnnie Walker commercial in which a father-of-the-bride talks about preparing to play "her favorite song" for the past year, and then plays Debussy's "Clair de lune":

I'll leaving aside calling a long instrumental piece a song, because I lost that battle years ago (and I'm retired from music teaching, so I no longer have a place to fight it). But if he's been practicing for a year, how did he learn a blatant wrong note in the second measure? (The piece gets hard later on, but not at that early point.) It doesn't speak well for how much he cares about it or her.

Maybe he had one too many slugs of Johnnie Walker before his performance.

[smittykins]

A Go Army ad featuring a remix of Chicago’s “25 Or 6 To 4”:

Merry Christmas to my fellow PTVers who celebrate! 🎄

[Jamoche]

On 11/16/2019 at 3:35 PM, elle said:

Can anyone identify the song in the Versa commercial?  

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/osWQ/fitbit-versa-2-alexa-and-sleep-score

I also have to laugh at the woman making a reminder to get a dog bed. Yep, that'll keep the dog off your bed. (snerk!)

Maybe her sleep score is high because dogs make great bed warmers? My dog always knew when I had a backache and would curl up in *just* the right spot.

[Moose135]

30 minutes ago, Jamoche said:

My dog always knew when I had a backache and would curl up in *just* the right spot.

I had a dog who would do the same - they just must know!

[Ashforth]

A late Merry Christmas @smittykins

[InDueTime]

The words to this DoorDash ad get stuck in my head sometimes.

 

[mythoughtis]

Why would anyone use the song ‘Go Ask Alice’ in a commercial?  Are we supposed to think  that  Celebrity cruises supplies drugs to their patrons? 

[cynicat]

8 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Why would anyone use the song ‘Go Ask Alice’ in a commercial?  Are we supposed to think  that  Celebrity cruises supplies drugs to their patrons? 

It's the only way you'd get me to go on one.

[Prevailing Wind]

I was dragged onto a 3-week cruise through the Panama Canal with my mom back in 92. Turned out, it wasn't all that bad. I really had such a good time, I didn't want to leave the ship. It helped that it was Holland-America, which has mostly seniors as passengers, so being the only young-ish person on the ship gave me a lot of latitude to flirt with the crew and staff members. I had a blast.

[chessiegal]

16 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Why would anyone use the song ‘Go Ask Alice’ in a commercial?  Are we supposed to think  that  Celebrity cruises supplies drugs to their patrons? 

It's interesting to me the difference in the Celebrity commercials depending on the market. Celebrity sponsors a cooking show on PBS - Simply Ming with Chef Ming Tsai. The sponsors get a short spot at the beginning or end. Celebrity has a brief appearance of their top food chef, who talks about being inspired by the food around the world for what they serve. TOTALLY different vibe than the commercial on commercial TV.

I've taken the Queen Mary 2 from New York to England 3 times. It was wonderful. Mostly old geezers like us. Very refined and elegant.

Edited January 23, 2020 by chessiegal

[mmecorday]

I'm going on a cruise to the Bahamas for my 50th birthday later this year. It'll be my first and I'm really excited!

Back on topic, there's a song being used in a current Walgreens ad that seems to go, "Oh, my God. Oh, my God." I think it's the second song by the Band that Played Ahhhhh in the Humira commercials.

[AimingforYoko]

I don't get the point of using "Antmusic" in this Booking.com ad:

 

[Colleenna]

On 1/23/2020 at 2:37 PM, mmecorday said:

Back on topic, there's a song being used in a current Walgreens ad that seems to go, "Oh, my God. Oh, my God."

You sure  that's  not an ad for the vibrating "facial " stone? 😂😂😉

[elle]

Pepsi can join the table with Carnival and Celebrity cruise lines for using a song with lyrics with a specific meaning.

 "Paint it Black" to promote a soda with a can that is black?  They could not ask either Missy Elliot or H.E.R. for something of their own or something original for the Super Bowl ad?

[materialgirl101]

Skyrizi song. Stickers in my head. Makes me stabby. 

[mmecorday]

Quote

Skyrizi song.

It's the Black Death of commercial jingles.

[CrystalBlue]

On 1/22/2020 at 7:47 PM, mythoughtis said:

Why would anyone use the song ‘Go Ask Alice’ in a commercial?  Are we supposed to think  that  Celebrity cruises supplies drugs to their patrons? 

The song is entitled "White Rabbit."

[Colleenna]

On 2/3/2020 at 10:03 PM, elle said:

Pepsi can join the table with Carnival and Celebrity cruise lines for using a song with lyrics with a specific meaning.

 "Paint it Black" to promote a soda with a can that is black?  They could not ask either Missy Elliot or H.E.R. for something of their own or something original for the Super Bowl ad?

It's  bad enough that  they're  using Jefferson  Airplane and the  Stones for music in commercials.  Some things ought to be  sacred 😉 But I swear to you,  the first adhole to use Tom Paxton, Ian and Sylvia, or Doc Watson in a commercial, I will hunt the heretic  down and gut them like a deer. There's  heresy, and then there's  HERESY. 

[cynicat]

Finally, a commercial where the music fits the action!  Not to mention, I'm loving the song and need to add it to my playlist.

 

[Colleenna]

I just saw a Zillow  commercial that  uses Bob Dylan's "Shelter From the Storm. " Heresy,  I tell you,  heresy! There oughta be a law!!

[catlover79]

On 1/23/2020 at 2:37 PM, mmecorday said:

I'm going on a cruise to the Bahamas for my 50th birthday later this year. It'll be my first and I'm really excited!

I'm guessing that's now off. I'm sorry.

Back on topic, add me to the list of those annoyed by "Nothing is Everything". Thanks a lot, Skyrizi!! 😠

[sempervivum]

On 5/6/2020 at 3:54 PM, Colleenna said:

I just saw a Zillow  commercial that  uses Bob Dylan's "Shelter From the Storm. " Heresy,  I tell you,  heresy! There oughta be a law!!

Oh, I like that one- I always hear something new in Dylan's voice/phrasing of this, and I never cared for that song before.

My new insanity producing 'song' is whatever is going on behind the iPhone 11 ad, which features somebody shrieking hysterically 'I want my thing thing'. Although it does kind of remind me of Jack White. ?

[Gramto6]

On 5/21/2020 at 9:22 AM, sempervivum said:

My new insanity producing 'song' is whatever is going on behind the iPhone 11 ad, which features somebody shrieking hysterically 'I want my thing thing'. Although it does kind of remind me of Jack White. ?

Yessss! That one just totally annoys me to no end!

[katycat74]

Anyone else but me grooving out to "Welcome Back" in the new Applebees ad? That song brings back such memories!!

[chenoa333]

On 5/12/2020 at 11:59 PM, catlover79 said:

I'm guessing that's now off. I'm sorry.

Back on topic, add me to the list of those annoyed by "Nothing is Everything". Thanks a lot, Skyrizi!! 😠

I guess that would also mean "everything is nothing"? Whatever the case may be, I HATE that f'n commercial!

Also, the constant TLC commercial for the (stolen from Bravo) show with the woman screaming "oh my Buddha!" I think its called Pillow Talk.

but Bravo did it better when they had it on as "People's Couch". I have no desire to watch pillow talk with a fool screaming at me.

[Prevailing Wind]

I once read a book by Richard Fariña where he had a series of poems about nothing, as though "nothing" were something.  The one I remember was an advertising slogan, "Nothing does it like Seven-Up, and it's cheaper, too."

[Ashforth]

5 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I once read a book by Richard Fariña where he had a series of poems about nothing, as though "nothing" were something.  The one I remember was an advertising slogan, "Nothing does it like Seven-Up, and it's cheaper, too."

I recall that Seinfeld was a show about nothing.

[catlover79]

21 hours ago, katycat74 said:

Anyone else but me grooving out to "Welcome Back" in the new Applebees ad? That song brings back such memories!!

I love it, too!!! 😎

[Ashforth]

I never liked the show "Welcome Back Kotter" or the song. Of course, I watched it, because 1975! Few choices! I'm glad it's a happy memory for some.

Today, though, condolences to John Travolta and his children for the loss of Kelly Preston, his wife of 29 years and mom to their two surviving kids, to breast cancer. So very sad for them.

[Sun-Bun]

The music in this commercial has irked me for MONTHS...white girl soul wrapped in a particularly annoying loop: 

 

I don’t know where the song is from or how it began or why it exists, other than to torment people with supposedly good taste. This music makes my toes curl.

Edited August 15, 2020 by Sun-Bun

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Sun-Bun said:

I don’t know where the song is from or how it began

It's Lolo's (singer-songwriter Lauren Pritchard) "Wild", which came out a couple of years ago (I think I heard it somewhere before the commercial came out last year, but I'm not sure).

[cynicat]

I really like this song and commercial a lot.  BUT, it is the epitome of an earworm in that I have it stuck in my head all day long.  Before you click, you've been warned...

 

[Silver Raven]

Dunkin' Donuts is running this poppy little song in their commercials, ignoring the fact that the song is about a young man who is dying.

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/nya2/dunkin-keep-running-with-dunkin-song-by-powfu#

 

[cynicat]

12 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Dunkin' Donuts is running this poppy little song in their commercials, ignoring the fact that the song is about a young man who is dying.

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/nya2/dunkin-keep-running-with-dunkin-song-by-powfu#

 

That's messed up

[Ashforth]

I hate the S L O W dirgelike version of "I Will Survive" in the recent Facebook ads. I fail to understand what FB is trying to accomplish with this musical message.

"I Will Survive" is a bracing anthem about finding one's self-esteem and personal triumph when faced with the former lover who expected to find that "chained up little person still in love with you." It is not a song that should sound as if the singer is lying in bed, weak and weeping.

I know I'm old, but no one will ever match Gloria Gaynor's exuberant, emotional, and vocally exquisite rendition of "I Will Survive." The video is, well, interesting, what with the disco roller skater.

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I hate the Zillow ads with the woman singing.   I can't even tell what the words are, but I hate it.  

[elle]

2 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I hate the Zillow ads with the woman singing.   I can't even tell what the words are, but I hate it.  

It seems to be a kids nonsense song.  It has two stanzas, the ad uses the second one.  We were having a family debate about whether there were lobsters or monsters living at the bottom of the sea, so I looked up the song.

Everybody has a place to go
Everybody wants a place to be
When birds fly they’re swimming in the sky
While fish are swimming in the sea

Everybody has a place to go
Everybody wants to be somewhere
Lobsters live at the bottom of the sea
While I’m at the bottom of the air

[CrazyInAlabama]

That song is supposed to make me want to use Zillow to buy a house?  

[cynicat]

8 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

That song is supposed to make me want to use Zillow to buy a house?  

At least it's a song in a commercial that makes sense.  Zillow will help you find a house no matter where you want to live.  Better than using a snippet of a song about drugs or death because you like a tiny phrase in it.

[tres bien]

So now All State has a goofy commercial that has the Bill Withers song Lovely Day.

I only don't dislike the commercial because I like the song.

Edited October 5, 2020 by tres bien

[elle]

On 10/5/2020 at 6:31 AM, tres bien said:

So now All State has a goofy commercial that has the Bill Withers song Lovely Day.

I only don't dislike the commercial because I like the song.

Whenever it comes on, I close my eyes and imagine this one playing.

Edited October 7, 2020 by elle