I was just watching SNL when this commercial for the Saturn Ion came on. What should my wondering ears hear but “Forever Young” by the band Alphaville. Does anyone besides me remember this song? It was my prom song (circa 1989). Holy nostalgia, Batman.
Now, it was cool to hear this song again, but I felt so pandered to. It’s bad enough that Hendrix and the Stones and Led Zeppelin are providing background music for car commercials, but plundering my obscure high school memories! That’s going too far. In fact, whenever I hear music that I love used in this manner, it makes me NOT want to buy the product.
YMMV, but anyone else have this kind of experience? Song you haven’t heard, blast from the past, that paradoxically flattering and repugnant feeling of being a targeted market? Does it encourage you to buy the product? Or does it bug you?
Well, Dial soap used “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” a few years ago and I was incredibly pissed off. Apparently I wasn’t the only one as the offending commercial vanished in short order.
I didn’t have as strong a reaction as you did to FY, maybe because I’ve been known to request it as the “chunk of cheese” on a local 80s radio show.
Alphaville is on the Sundance Channel in about 8 hours if you’re interested. It’s the movie from which the band took its name.
I just saw that commercial today! To me, the song is an ‘oldie’; I was only 10 years old in 1989 - sorry ;). I still love it, however, & I’m still annoyed that it’s being used to sell cars. I haven’t yet heard many nostalgia-inspiring songs used in commercials, but I’m sure it’ll happen in about five years.
I wasn’t a teen in the 80s either, but I always wondered how many high school kids lost their virginity in the backseat of a car on prom night while “Forever Young” was playing. That and “Careless Whisper.” Heh.
Led Zeppelin allowing their music to be used in car commercials was pretty surprising, but this kind of thing happens to every generation of music at some point. I bet we won’t have to wait much longer for deodorant commercials featuring Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, at which point I really will cry.
Didn’t lose my virginity to Forever Young, but angstily remember dancing to it, in true John Hughes style, with my long-haired boyfriend (who I’m still friends with, and who is now BALD). God, I hate aging (though, the alternative is clearly worse).
I was at an 80s Valentine’s Day fundraiser thing, and I was talking to a 13 year old girl the other day about music. She was telling me how much she loved 80s heavy metal, and how Britney Spears sucked. I told her that all she had to do was wait a few decades, and there will be 00s Valentine’s Day nostalgia parties where everyone listens to oldies like Britney Spears and remembes when. She visibly quailed-- ha HA! Just wait.
During my final HS assembly, they played that song in memory of a girl (who had been a friend of mine in grade school, but we’d drifted apart through the years) who had either committed suicide or had a terrible accident (based on the circumstances there were convincing arguments both ways)…
I think of her and that time when I hear that song.
It certainly isn’t going to get me to buy a car.
However, if it’s done cleverly and cleanly, and hasn’t got overloaded associations, I’ll think “good commercial.” Even without the associations, the song doesn’t make sense in this commercial.