Sixties Rock Songs Used In TV Commercials

Tom Olson · Post by **Tom Olson** » 6 Apr 2005 5:00 pm

Don't know if these have been mentioned above, but --

The Who, "Won't Get Fooled Again" was recently used in a car commercial, but I don't remember which brand it was.

Led Zepplin, "Rock and Roll" is used in a recent Cadillac commercial.

It may be expensive to use these songs in advertisements but apparently it's less expensive and/or more cost effective to use old rock songs than to get somebody to write a good jingle -- otherwise, we'd be hearing good jingles instead of old rock songs, RIGHT??

Seems like things were a little different in the 50's and 60's. I seem to remember a lot of good jingles in radio and on TV. Although pop/rock tunes were used in advertising it was more the exception than the rule (one example is Santana's "Evil Ways" that was used in a tobacco commercial in the late 60's/early 70's).

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 6 Apr 2005 11:33 pm

According to the coffee table book "According to the Rolling Stones" (check it out from the library), the Stones began playing to a click track many years ago partly because it's necessary in order to synchronize the songs for TV and movie use. Keith originally hated it, of course, but cooler heads prevailed.

Tom Olson · Post by **Tom Olson** » 7 Apr 2005 10:27 am

I wonder what made them think of that? Maybe that little ol' movie called, "A Hard Days Night?" Nah....

Bill Beall · Post by **Bill Beall** » 8 Apr 2005 7:31 am

Not too long ago I heard a clip from "Make the World Go Away" by Ray Price. It was on a commercial for candy. (Still a great song)

Ken Lang · Post by **Ken Lang** » 8 Apr 2005 4:30 pm

A commercial I see playing these days has the old song Boom Boom, boom boom.

Theresa Galbraith · Post by **Theresa Galbraith** » 9 Apr 2005 2:40 am

Shania's "I Feel Like A Woman" is in a SUV commercial. The guy in the back seat is singing it. I laugh out loud everytime I see it!

I know it's not sixties rock.

Bill Bassett · Post by **Bill Bassett** » 9 Apr 2005 7:51 am

The one I like is John Fogerty singing about "The red, white and blue" in a Wranglers ad. The line, totally taken out of context of the rest of the song Fortunate Son. What were they thinking?

Oh yeah, it was for the "Relaxed Fit" brand of Wranglers. Brings to mind the old line...As I get older, my broad mind and narrow waist seem to have traded places.

BD

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 9 Apr 2005 1:36 pm

The worst by far is "Whoo Hoo", or whatever it's called. It was mindless in the fifties, and whomever is singing for this comercial is just atrocious. They don't even realize that if you're singing a repetitive lick over the 1 and the 4 chord, that you have to flat the third over the 4 chord. Drives me nutz to hear that awful dischord! I turn it off sooo fast, that I don't even know what product is being advertised! JB

Keith Cordell · Post by **Keith Cordell** » 10 Apr 2005 5:56 am

Actually Gerald that is untrue. If you've heard about the rift between Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney, it is a classic example of what happens. In those early days of rock and roll the record company or a publishing company owned the publishing rights to the songs. The early Beatles catalog was sold by their management; when it came up for sale Jackson bought it out from under McCartney, and started selling commercial rights to the entire Lennon McCartney back catalog to the highest bidder. This is the case with the early CCR stuff as well; Saul Zaentz was their manager and owned the publishing rights to the early CCR stuff, which is why you hear it in commercials. In an ironic twist, Fogerty was sued by that same publishing group years later for writing songs that "sounded too much like Fogerty". Many of these bands do sell rights to their songs willingly, and have ressurected their careers doing so. They wrote it, they own it, so more power to 'em, I say.

Bill Llewellyn · Post by **Bill Llewellyn** » 10 Apr 2005 7:18 am

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 10 Apr 2005 7:21 am

Nah--just sends him a kid in a plain brown box with airholes.

Mark van Allen · Post by **Mark van Allen** » 10 Apr 2005 7:35 am

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 10 Apr 2005 7:43 am

renault just came out w: a commercial for one of it's shorts & is usin' that Canned Heat tune
"goin' to the Country"
the one that kicks off "Woodstock" i believe[This message was edited by CrowBear Schmitt on 10 April 2005 at 10:32 AM.]

Pat Burns · Post by **Pat Burns** » 11 Apr 2005 3:52 pm

..

, Jon..I take it you were excused from jury duty..

..I wonder what "Ebony and Ivory" would have sounded like with Michael instead of Stevie...[This message was edited by Pat Burns on 11 April 2005 at 04:55 PM.]

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 11 Apr 2005 4:26 pm

Would Paul have been the black guy?

Joe Miraglia · Post by **Joe Miraglia** » 12 Apr 2005 5:30 pm

The Buffalo Bills,You Make Me Want To Shout. We're back!Joe

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 14 Apr 2005 9:41 pm

Personally, I find this practice highly offensive. As a baby boomer and former (maybe not so former) hippy, these songs are my cultural heritage, and I hate to see them used this way. I think it's cultural prostitution, and the people who do it have either sold their souls, or never had one to begin with.

Paul Simon agrees. He refused to let Midas Mufflers change "the sound of silence" to "The sound of Midas" despite the fact that he was offered a lot of money.

Bravo Paul. I wish everybody had as much integrity as you do.

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 14 Apr 2005 10:22 pm

About 12 years ago I did my most high preasure video edit to
"Takin' Care of Business" - BTO.

It was for ad agency N.W. Ayer's presntation to AT&T
for the post "Friends and Family" MCI advertising and accounting war.

It was an inhouse commercial for the ad agency as capper for their presentation to AT&T execs.

Now when I say High Preasure I mean a $120 million a YEAR, 5 year contract was up for renewal...

I was stillediting till within 15 minutes of the viewing, during a 2 hour presentation.

It made the execs laugh and broke some serious room tension,
I was told...
A good old 70's rock anthem to make'm feel young again.

Archie Nicol R.I.P. · Post by **Archie Nicol R.I.P.** » 15 Apr 2005 4:48 am

Steve Harley lives off` Come Up And See Me.`
I'll bet that makes him smile.

Marty Pollard · Post by **Marty Pollard** » 15 Apr 2005 5:25 am

"(maybe not so former)" <--- operative words

"I think it's cultural prostitution, and the people who do it have either sold their souls, or never had one to begin with."
You mean like recording high-brow classical compositions on a novelty instrument?

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 15 Apr 2005 6:39 am

Get real Marty. I don't do what I do in order to sell Coca Cola.

Marty Pollard · Post by **Marty Pollard** » 15 Apr 2005 7:43 am

No, but to purchase it.
Small distinction Mike.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 15 Apr 2005 8:07 am

Ah, yes, the Forum just as it used to be...

Ben Elder · Post by **Ben Elder** » 15 Apr 2005 4:24 pm

While I don't regularly embrace any particular pharmaceutical partisanship, I jumped up and cheered in uncontrolled delight when the FDA banned Vioxx. I almost didn't think about the drug but instead the realization, "No more Rascals' effing 'It's A Beautiful Morning'!!! on TV"

I thought their stuff was hugely overrated when I was 13 and the 38-year interim has only underscored my orignal opinion.

This may all be off-topic since "Morning" hardly qualifies as rock. Wusspopexcrement, if that's a genre recognized by Billboard, SOundScan or ASCAP...

No more "Beautiful Morning"--it is a beautiful morning all day every day.

One for the good guys: I was pleased at the end of 1999 when Mercedes, hyping a year-end sale, used Steve Goodman (and John Prine's) "The Twentieth Century Is Almost Over"...even though there was techically a year to go yet.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 15 Apr 2005 7:03 pm

I was pleased at the end of 1999 when Mercedes, hyping a year-end sale, used Steve Goodman (and John Prine's) "The Twentieth Century Is Almost Over"...even though there was techically a year to go yet.

Well, come on, Ben, it was 99% over! That ought to qualify as "almost over", donchathink?