Comercials that usurped songs

Cafe Society
1

There are many songs that, when I hear them, make me think of a product that song was used to hock on television or the radio at one time. I honestly think I watched too much television as a kid. I even go so far as to hear the commercial version - with altered lyrics - when I hear the song.

“Mr. Big Stuff” Jean Knight - Big Stuff Oreos (“Oreo big stuff - who do you think you are?”)
“Legs” ZZ Top - Leggs (“She’s got legs…Sheer Energy Leggs”)
“Hit the Road Jack” Ray Charles - KFC (“Kentucky fried chicken’s got more, got more, got more, got more”)
“When Johnny Comes Marching Home” - Mrs. Weiss soup (“When Johnny comes marching home for lunch, it’s Mrs. Weiss”)
“Turkey in the Straw” - Murphy’s Oil (“now the dirt is finished but the finish is fine”)

I’m sure we’ve done this before but I’m bored, so indulge me. What are some popular-songs-cum-jingles you recall…and can’t help but recall?

2

“Like a Rock” Bob Seger - I can’t hear the song anymore without seeing trucks tearing through a bunch of mud.

3

A few years back either a premium cable channel or a video rental store (I forget which) ran a commercial using Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, with a choir singing the melody as “Movies movies movies movies; movies movies mooooovies…”

To this day I can’t not hear “movies” in my head when I hear that piece. Dammit.

4

When I was a kid, I thought Carly Simon’s “Anticipation” was a ketchup jingle.

5

Hate to admit, but some pairings work well:

United Airlines/Gershwin
Beef/Copland

6

Likewise John [del]Cougar[/del] Mellencamp & “Our Country”.

7

I always thought it was the quintessence of irony that that song, about keeping one’s integrity, was bought to sell trucks.

8

Showing my age - “Theme from The Magnificent Seven” always makes me think of Marlboro cigarettes. Aaron Copland’s “Rodeo” makes me hungry for beef.

9

I have a solution: Substitute the lyrics to “Clementine.” Try it, it scans perfectly.

10

Actually, Seger, a native of Detroit, explicitly licensed that song to GM to help the U.S. auto industry and to keep American auto workers employed.

11

Für Elise:

"Oh, I wish I were already there
Instead of here
Playing this song

Oh, I would have a big choc-o-late shake
A cheeseburger
And also whoops and also fries"

12

Holy shit, I thought I was the only one! It was Starz! by the way.

“When I want movies
I wanna see Starz!”

was the rest of it.

For me, it’s *Taking Care of Business *(OfficeMax, I believe); Bad to the Bone (every movie ever made about a lovable bad boy);

13

It’s been… what? 20-25 years? And I still think of the California Raisins when I hear “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”.

14

Office Depot.

The ultimate for me has already been mentioned - “Like a Rock”. It’s almost like the song never existed before the commercials for me.

15

That song “Trouble” (not sure who sings it) being used in the insurance commercial with the dog.
Also “How You Like Me Now” by the Heavy in that KIA Super Bowl commercial where the giant stuffed animals go to Vegas.

16

I mentioned Trouble in a recent AI thread. I can’t hear that song now without thinking of the dog and his bone.

17

Ha! I can’t believe I forgot about this. I guess because I haven’t heard “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” in a while.

OR, because that song was sooooo entrenched in the whole Raisins thing (remember the Christmas special?) that it has ceased to exist in its own right and now is only and forever a song about claymation raisins :slight_smile:

18

*Casey Jones. *
Love that Good & Plenty!
(Actually, I hate licorice, but the song sure is catchy.)

19

Was I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing written for Coke? I don’t think so. I remember performing it in Glee Club oh sooo many years ago, it was presented as a folk song. But now, whenever I hear “That’s the song I sing. . .” I ALWAYS follow it with “Coke is!”

20

I’m very annoyed with Clapton for his phone commercial. I used to *like *“I’ve Got A Rock ‘N’ Roll”