That’s okay. We Dopers are a forgiving lot. The goat, however, may not be so gentle when it is time for your initiation. 
It really is a good topic. Other ones that have upset me include using Led Zeppelin to promote Cadillac and using Aerosmith to promote some other car. That sucks. I heard a new commercial using the song “Fever” yesterday. Great songs like that shouldn’t be allowed in commercials.
Ford had to delete a line out of “Bohemian Like You” to make it appropriate to sell cars.
I’m still p*ssed that Coke used Queen’s I Want To Break Free to sell that dreck they call C2.
I’m pretty sure Freddy spun in his grave on that one.
Yeah, but the falsies he wore in the video probably cashed the check.
Didn’t Jaguar or somesuch use ‘London Calling’ a couple of years ago? I seem to recall that gave me a migraine.
I believe Bananarama thoroughly ruined that song long before it was ever attached to a commercial.
I remember The Flaming Lips’s “Do You Realize?” was used for a car commercial. It’s got some lush instrumentation, but the song is more about realizing how life is precious because soon you die. I suppose it could be considered happy in a carpe diem sense. Here are some lines:
Do you realize
That happiness makes you cry?
Do you realize
That everyone you know someday will die?
Don’t forget about the Reagan campaign in '84 and the use of “Pink House’s” by John Couger Mellancamp. They left out the line that states: “but the simple man baby pays the bills, for the thrills, the pills that kill”. :rolleyes:
The Yardbirds’ “Over Under Sideways Down” is being used to sell the Chevy Cobalt. (Actually the song seems to be a remake done by some TV commercial hack band.)
I have always loved that song and it’s sad to think it is now being used to sell cars. However, similar to the advertising people thinking that “Fortunate Son” is a fine patriotic song, “Over Under Sideways Down” at first seems to be about the fun of being a young adult, enjoying cars, women, etc. That song comes to a rude awakening, though.
If I might be permitted to post half the lyrics, you’ll see my point.
Cars and girls are easy come by, in this day and age.
Laughing joking drinking smoking, til I’ve spent my wage.
When I was young, people spoke for their morality.
All the things they said were wrong are what I want to be.
Over, under, sideways down; backwards, forward, square and round.
Over, under, sideways down; backwards, forward, square and round.
When will it end ? When will it end ?
That song has a hard-driving upbeat sound - until it reaches the “When will it end” part. It changes to a minor key and sounds incredibly depressing. The point of the song is the realization that you’re not going to be young forever. (I’m sure that is not the message Chevy wants to convey).
The (thankfully) short-lived Beatles’ “Revolution #1” shoe ad.
Busch beer using Skynyrd’s “Simple Man.” Horrible.
I honestly cried the first time I saw one of those commercials. It’s just so… WRONG.
Good article on the subject.
Anyone actually seen this one?:
Love “Who Are You?” as the CSI theme. And it was great to be introduced to Dirty Vegas even if it took a commercial to do it.
I really love music but don’t think it is sacred. The artists made money when the songs first came out. Nobody gave them away and they shouldn’t. I can’t behind the term “selling out”.
Or get behind the term either.
The hell you say. I like the original just fine but the Bananarama cover is a great little bubble gum pop song. And the video…genius.
Another one that I had pretty well thoroughly repressed until I saw this thread title again: “Over the Rainbow” being used to sell Dial soap. I remember the first time I heard that and I was just livid. I don’t think I was the only one as the commercial vanished in very short order.
HP totally f’ed the meaning of The Cure’s “Pictures Of You”.
Toyota f’ed the meaning behind the Buzzcocks’ “What Do I Get”.
And though thankfully none of the lyrics were used, I cringed every time I heard that signature guitar from The Smiths’ “How Soon Is Now” over that Nissan commercial.
No way! They used that? Geez. Another “Lust for Life” moment! Never saw it (thank you, Jesus).
2 things -
Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” fell into use as a patriotic anthem, although its lyrics definitely do not support this.
Verve Pipe’s “The Freshmen” fell briefly into use as a high school anthem (Woo! Go Freshmen 1997!) when in fact the song was about unrecoverable pain from some teen tragedy.
Wasn’t Green Day’s “Time Of Your Life” about a guy saying goodbye to his girlfriend? Either way, I remember the song was used to death when the class of 2000 graduated from high school.
They also used Help! for one of the early Friday the 13th movies. After that the song didn’t feel right for decades. I think I still have to watch the movie Help! a few more to see if I can completely wipe the feeling I got from that commercial from my mind.
sigh
I had a long day the other day and I put on some Gershwin to let my mind free itself a bit and a friend came by (I should have locked the door) and asked why I was listening to United Airlines music.
It has gone too far…