# Well, THAT was a weird commercial **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 15, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101 "2005-08-15T15:18:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/1 "2005-08-15T15:18:01Z")
TV’s on in the background (CNN). They just aired a Toyota commercial in Spanish with an orchestral rendition of _What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor_ for the music. _What Shall We Do With A Drunken Spanish Toyota Driver? What Shall We Do With A Drunken Spanish Toyota Driver? What Shall We Do With A Drunken Spanish Toyota Driver? Ear-lie in the morning?_ ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/2 "2005-08-16T09:08:17Z")
\<_tap, tap_\> Hello, is this thing on? \<_cough_\> **Johnny** , I’ve seen that commercial here in the SF Bay Area, but it was in English (I think, at least. I tend to tune out car commercials). I heard the _“What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor”_ tune, looked up to see what was being advertised, and was really creeped out to find that it was a car. Who on earth signed off on this ad? In the US, over 40,000 people die on the roads each year, of which [about 17,000](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/02/national/02drink.html?ex=1124337600&en=40708f2ae960c184&ei=5070&pagewanted=all) are alcohol-related. I’m annoyed enough when car commercials show people driving dangerously (_Yeehaw!_), but the “Drunken Sailor” association is beyond the limits of acceptability, AFAIAC. Is it possible that the Toyota executive responsible just saw it as an upbeat tune, without knowing the words to the shanty? A few years ago, Channel 7 (the ABC affiliate here in San Francisco) ran commercials highlighting their news helicopter(s) – with _The Ride of the Valkyries_ playing as a chopper flew by the Golden Gate Bridge. I eagerly awaited the sequel – perhaps [Robert Duvall](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078788/) on Ocean Beach, exhorting Sam Bottoms to surf, then calling down an aerial napalm strike on Golden Gate Park… _[“I love the smell of patchouli in the morning. It smells like… hippies”_.] ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/3 "2005-08-16T12:10:46Z")
I’ve seen it here in Baltimore, too. I also did a double-take - “Is that song what I think it is?” There _are_ other words to it, a kid’s song called “Bow, Bow, Bow Belinda,” one of those partner things that we do with the kids at the preschool where I teach. Exact same tune, just different words. I was wondering if there are even more versions and that was what the ad exec was thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/4 "2005-08-21T18:17:02Z")
I’ve been meaning to start a thread about this since I first saw the commercials (2 so far). Glad to know there already is one. I’m trying very hard to assume someone at Toyota’s ad agency actually sees a connection between a Toyota and “heave-ho and up she rises ear-lye in the morning.” ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/5 "2005-08-21T23:48:49Z")
I’m pretty sure it’s a case of “ad person hears dramatic music and goes with it without knowing what it actually is.” That same arrangement was the intro to _Everybody Loves Raymond_ a season or so ago; everybody was playing slo-motion football. No mention of drunkeness, sailors, or ear-lie mornings… ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/6 "2005-08-22T01:22:45Z")
> [@BraheSilver](#): > > I’m pretty sure it’s a case of “ad person hears dramatic music and goes with it without knowing what it actually is.” That same arrangement was the intro to _Everybody Loves Raymond_ a season or so ago; everybody was playing slo-motion football. No mention of drunkeness, sailors, or ear-lie mornings… The version used in both is a cue from the NFL Films production music library, usually accompanied by the booming voice of Jon Facenda. I think the commercial is meant to mimic the slow, heroic style of an NFL Films TV show. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/7 "2005-08-22T10:27:26Z")
Yeah, it creeped me out, too - we get it in English in the Chicago area. I was going “WTF???” NOT appropriate for a car commercial! I can only think it was some cultural illiterate going “Oh - catchy tune! Let’s use _this_ one…” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/8 "2005-08-22T13:54:38Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yeah, it creeped me out, too - we get it in English in the Chicago area. I’ve only heard the Spanish version once. Probably a cock-up at CNN. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/9 "2005-08-22T16:35:29Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I can only think it was some cultural illiterate going “Oh - catchy tune! Let’s use _this_ one…” That’s what I was thinking. They were listening to a bunch of music clips without reading the titles or knowing exactly what they were and just liked the way it sounded. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/10 "2005-08-22T16:59:48Z")
Several years ago (probably during the early 90’s) I saw a car commercial using the Beach Boys’ tune _Fun, Fun, Fun_ ('til her daddy takes the T-Bird away). It was a **Pontiac** commercial. :eek: 😕 :eek: I only saw it once, but that was enough. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/11 "2005-08-23T06:45:57Z")
Around Christmas several years ago, I was watching a telecast which featured various local school choirs performing carols and other holiday fare. I did a double-take when I recognized a rather reverent set of lyrics sung to the “Drunken Sailor” tune. Perhaps the sea chanty appropriated the melody, but I couldn’t help thinking that some kid had once misheard the lyrics, subsequently sung the line as “What do you do with a drunken _Savior_”, been informed of his error, but nevertheless grown up to pen the religious verses… ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/12 "2005-08-23T14:22:25Z")
This is weird. I noticed the song weeks ago and kept meaning to post about it but I thought I was probably the only one who thought it sounded like the drunken sailor song. Then a few days ago someone on my live journal posted about it and now I see this thread for the first time even though it’s several days old. So I guess I am not alone. I can’t believe a car company would agree to use a song about a drunken anything for their commercial so they must be the only people in the world who don’t think it sounds like that song. What drives me nuts is that everytime I hear the commercial I get the drunken sailor song stuck in my head and I only know one verse. I guess I need to learn more lyrics so I can sing it all the way through. Although, after reading Sternvogel’s post I now what to sing “What do you do with a drunken savior?”. Great, now I am going to hell. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/13 "2005-08-23T15:54:18Z")
Come to think of it, what the heck do drunken sailors have to do with football, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/14 "2005-08-23T16:01:49Z")
[Two articles](http://www.jsonline.com/enter/tvradio/aug05/349049.asp) from the [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel](http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?p=toyota+drunken+sailor+nfl&ei=UTF-8&fl=0&u=www.jsonline.com/enter/tvradio/cuprisin/&w=toyota+drunken+sailor+nfl&d=31FD4C30C0&icp=1&.intl=us) about the ad. I would definitely recognize it as NFL Films music, but it is true that there are other cues that could have been used. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/15 "2005-08-23T16:08:45Z")
[New link](http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?p=toyota+nfl+drunken+sailor&ei=UTF-8&fl=0&u=www.jsonline.com/enter/tvradio/aug05/349049.asp&w=toyota+nfl+drunken+sailor&d=D0E84B0249&icp=1&.intl=us) for first article. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/16 "2005-08-23T16:56:24Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > What drives me nuts is that everytime I hear the commercial I get the drunken sailor song stuck in my head and I only know one verse. I guess I need to learn more lyrics so I can sing it all the way through. Although, after reading Sternvogel’s post I now what to sing “What do you do with a drunken savior?”. > > Great, now I am going to hell. Here ya go. [http://ingeb.org/songs/whatshal.html](http://ingeb.org/songs/whatshal.html) And if you get tired of all of those, apparently you can sing it in Latin. I don’t know if that will get you to hell any faster. The additional one I always heard was “Shave his belly (ie genitals) with a rustly razor”. Certainly puts me in the mood to buy a car. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-a-weird-commercial/317101/17 "2005-08-24T14:33:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Dear Toyota, > > Your new advertising campaign is hilarious! Imagine a car company using a song about drunken sailors to sell their products! Brilliant! It’s about time someone acknowledged the upside of drinking and driving. Kudos to you! > > If I may make a suggestion, how about a new commercial depicting drunken pirates driving a Toyota – with _What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor_ for the soundtrack, of course. Everybody likes pirates, and the ad would be sure to win your advertising company a Cleo Award. We need more humour in advertising! > > Keep up the good work, > > Johnny L.A. Too bad I couldn’t find their e-mail address on their website. ☹