I’ve heard the same song under the name “Nut Rocker” by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, on their “Pictures at an Exhibition” album.
I was remembering Grieg’s “Morning Mood” and a butter commercial. It was a surprise to learn that in the play it’s set in the North African desert.
For me, I always associate it with the Friskies Buffet cat food commercial.
Even with the association, I seem to be able to handle the original on its own terms as well
I was surprised by the use of Saint-Seans Symphony #3 as the theme for the pig movie Babe. Didn’t make any sense and it took years to eliminate the association.
Another one from 2001: A Space Odyssey: when was the last time you heard anyone sing “Daisy Bell” in a normal voice?
In the 80s I listened to a lot of Queen and while they were well known in US it was more for Another One Bites the Dust than anything else. I loved Bohemian Rhapsody but it wasn’t a widely known song. When Wayne’s World came out it ruined a lot of my love for the song as it was suddenly popular as the sing-a-long with friends in the car song where we all get to headbang at the end.
“Yakety Sax” is by no means serious music, but it’s now forever associated with Benny Hill.
You need to hear Groucho’s I Want My Shirt from The Cocoanuts.
here’s a slight twist on the OP:
Something which is ruined because I have seen this youtube version of it:
Thus Spake Zarathustra" -2001 theme
(one-minute long. children’s orchestra attempting to play it.)
Seriously–click on it! …a memorable experience that will stick with you for the rest of your life. 
And don’t forget to read the comments…you’ll laugh enough to ease the pain.
(“how many elephants were killed in making this video”)
Sounds like they learned from the pros:
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” has been completely ruined for me ever since it was used as the melody for “A-B-C-D-E-F-G.”
Not that the tune was ever some great piece of music composed by one of the great masters of classical music, but come on!
I used to watch ‘Medium’ (tv show about a psychic) and in one of the most gruesome disturbing episodes the song ‘Happy Together’ by the Turtles was playing. I could never hear that great little song afterwards without remembering that horrific episode…another one, ‘Rapper’s Delight’ was playing, and in yet another, something from The Sound of Music…
Mozart took this little ditty and elevated it to the stratosphere.
Tubular Bells is demon music. I feel bad about it scaring me anytime I hear it because it’s a pretty piece of music.
While the finale is The Lone Ranger theme.
“Aloha ʻOe” is originally a beautiful song of farewell and it holds deep meaning for the Hawaiian people. But for mainlanders it was ruined by cartoons decades ago. The song has shrunk to a couple bars of the chorus played on a slide guitar as a sonic shorthand for “Hawaiʻi.” Hardly anyone has heard the full song or knows what it means.
It deserves to be rediscovered and really heard as for the first time.
I keep wondering how many people even know what movie that music is from.
When the McDonalds Piano recital was on, I took my young son to the library. There was a room where someone was playing the song and we could hear from hallway. He said to me, "they are playing the McDonalds song.
So, the song always takes me back to that situation.