# Why do they use such kid unfriendly songs in the ads for kid's movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2016, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010 "2016-03-24T09:13:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010/21 "2016-03-24T18:47:36Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Hmm; I definitely feel like things are more widely censored. And of course I can’t seem to dredge up an example, despite encountering it almost daily :smack: I do realize that there has always been censorship and it for the most part was ridiculous too, but I don’t recall ever hearing songs with words obscured or muted. I \*did \*hear Roger Daltry asking “who the fuck are you?” and Chrissie Hynde told me and my dad on a daily basis to fuck off due to her precious nature. OTOH, I remember the whole Tipper Gore PMRC thing. I guess I just don’t remember it being part of _my_ life, as in neither my parents nor anyone’s parents I knew ever commented much less put any limits on what we listened to (or watched for that matter). Suppose we can chalk it up to my mileage varying 🙂 Back in the day, content was pre-censored. Things like the comics code, film code, and limited film ratings sytems kept things clean-ish, and musicians kept their lyrics clean-ish, because not getting radio play because of coarse language would be the kiss of commercial death. There was always “dirty” stuff out there, but it was pretty niche. For a lot of reasons, it’s become easier now to create the “dirty” content and censor it after the fact. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010/22 "2016-03-24T19:00:44Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I can’t look at this since I’m at work, but I do know that “I Am Curious, Yellow” is not about Big Bird. :eek: 😃 I’m pretty sure that’s “Mahna, Mahna”, in the soundtrack of the > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Italian mondo film Svezia, inferno e paradiso (Sweden: Heaven and Hell [lit. Hell and Heaven]) (1968), an exploitation documentary film about wild sexual activity and other behaviour in Sweden But I don’t tell my 5-year-old that when she insists on finding every variation available on Youtube of the Muppet rendition (complete with [Mahna Mahna Guy](http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Mahna_Mahna_(character)) and the [Snowths](http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/The_Snowths)). TBH, the Muppets completely moved in and conquered that song long ago. The original media context and history are meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Sodalite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@Sodalite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sodalite)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010/23 "2016-03-24T19:10:10Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > “I need to make an obscenity complaint against my neighbor. When he’s working in his garden I can’t help but hear him whistle dirty songs.” > > I am not familiar with the Shaun the Sheep trailer but if they don’t include the lyrics it is not an ‘adult’ song. [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQvwiOWpj7o) is the Shaun the Sheep trailer. Take a look at the comments. Several of them are people asking what the songs are. The trailer just acts as an introduction to the song. I’m talking about what happens later. Some people (not naming names, Mom) think a song used to advertise a kid’s movie is automatically kid safe/SFW because the adult bits are edited out. When they catch themselves humming the tune and go to find the song, they get a surprise. > [@amarinth](#): > > Isn’t that song “Tequila”? > Couldn’t you find a copy or remix of that for your kids to dance to? Nope, it’s not [Tequila](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H6amDbAwlY). It’s [Fireball.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If27FnxvjZA) I’ve already suggested looking for a Kidz Bop type alternative. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010/24 "2016-03-24T19:25:22Z")
> [@Sodalite](#): > > Nope, it’s not [Tequila](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H6amDbAwlY). It’s [Fireball.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If27FnxvjZA) I’ve already suggested looking for a Kidz Bop type alternative. Sorry - I wasn’t clear. To me, the music of Fireball sounds a hell of a lot like Tequila. (I don’t think it’s a sample, but it’s damn close). If the kids in question like the sound and dance around to Fireball, if you play them Tequila (no lyrics), they’ll probably like it and dance around to it, too. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010/25 "2016-03-24T20:09:27Z")
I don’t really see the issue. They went with an instrumental version for a reason. And when they do use lyrics, they tend to only keep the clean ones. Or they change the lyrics–even if only by muting the bad part. It’s not as if most music listeners pay that much attention to the real meaning of lyrics. Heck, a lot of the time, they don’t pay attention to the lyrics at all. You like a song because you like the melody or the beat. I don’t see why trailers for movies can’t do the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010/26 "2016-03-24T22:17:27Z")
The songs on the soundtracks don’t necessarily have the same lyrics as the “real” songs. One of my favorite bands, Carbon Leaf, has rewritten some of their songs for the Curious George movies - the new versions have the same tune, but kid-friendlier lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010/27 "2016-03-24T22:50:59Z")
Not kid-unfriendly, exactly, but I really thought I was hearing something when I saw [this trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El7chqzwKlo) last fall. ---
**Author:** ![Sodalite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@Sodalite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sodalite)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010/28 "2016-03-25T00:06:57Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I don’t really see the issue. They went with an instrumental version for a reason. And when they do use lyrics, they tend to only keep the clean ones. Or they change the lyrics–even if only by muting the bad part. > > It’s not as if most music listeners pay that much attention to the real meaning of lyrics. Heck, a lot of the time, they don’t pay attention to the lyrics at all. You like a song because you like the melody or the beat. > > I don’t see why trailers for movies can’t do the same thing. Okay. Some people are still missing the whole point of the post. It’s NOT about the trailers. It’s about people who like the pieces of a song they hear in an ad for a kid’s movie then find out that the REAL song is NSFW/not something they would buy or play for their kids. Then they wonder why that song was used to advertise a movie for children. Sort of like people who have only heard the radio edit of Ceelo Green’s [Fuck You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc0mxOXbWIU). They think “Forget You” is just a cute little pop song about a guy who wants to get over a broken heart. Hey Parent, by this song for me! They heard a version of it in _The Muppets_ so it must be clean, right? Very wrong. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Not kid-unfriendly, exactly, but I really thought I was hearing something when I saw [this trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El7chqzwKlo) last fall. What do you mean not kid-unfriendly exactly? [I doubt Schulz would approve.](https://play.google.com/music/preview/Tqyuvqgpx3jnqareslvoieu2pxu?lyrics=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=lyrics&pcampaignid=kp-lyrics) Anyway, if you check the comments you’ll see the same question my sister is asking. **ghfdfhfdndxhcg** > [@](#): > > Why did they have to promote the film with such songs anyway? That and several others are in the group of replies to: **Devo Fauzan Rahman9** > [@](#): > > I hope that shitty soundtrack is just for the trailer. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010/29 "2016-03-25T00:40:20Z")
> [@Sodalite](#): > > What do you mean not kid-unfriendly exactly? I meant that the one I linked to was not explicitly kid-unfriendly, but using The Who in the trailer for _The Peanuts Movie_ struck me as disconcerting. Maybe it shouldn’t. Times change. The rock and roll that gave parents the vapors back in the '50s were nostalgic oldies by the '70s. I suppose that the hard and psychedelic rock of the late-'60s/early-'70s is what gives today’s parents warm fuzzy feelings about their childhood. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010/30 "2016-03-25T02:52:38Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Not kid-unfriendly, exactly, but I really thought I was hearing something when I saw [this trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El7chqzwKlo) last fall. isnt that the song with the line “girls of 15, sexually knowing”? not exactly a peanuts kinda song. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010/31 "2016-03-25T02:59:51Z")
> [@Critical1](#): > > isnt that the song with the line “girls of 15, sexually knowing”? No. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010/32 "2016-03-25T03:13:46Z")
Baba O’Riley and 5:15 aren’t even on the same album… (The former is the first song on Who’s Next, the latter starts Side 3 of Quadrophenia.) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010/33 "2016-03-25T03:32:15Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Are the songs used in commercials usually even in. Very often the trailers are created long before the movie is finished and it is known exactly what music or even scenes will be in the final cut. And very often a trailer uses music not from the movie it’s advertising but from another popular movie, to get your attention and goodwill off the bat. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010/34 "2016-03-25T05:23:07Z")
> [@Sodalite](#): > > [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQvwiOWpj7o) is the Shaun the Sheep trailer. Take a look at the comments. Several of them are people asking what the songs are. The trailer just acts as an introduction to the song. I’m talking about what happens later. Some people (not naming names, Mom) think a song used to advertise a kid’s movie is automatically kid safe/SFW because the adult bits are edited out. When they catch themselves humming the tune and go to find the song, they get a surprise. > > Nope, it’s not [Tequila](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H6amDbAwlY). It’s [Fireball.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If27FnxvjZA) I’ve already suggested looking for a Kidz Bop type alternative. How would a Kidz Bop-type version of _Tequila_ even go? \*Ba-dat da-da dat-da dat-da Ba-dat da-da dat-dat-da Ba-dat da-da dat-da dat-da Ba-dat da-da dat-dat-da Badadada daaaaah-da Badadada daaaaah-da Badadada daaaaah-da Bada bada dat dat da. “Milk.”\* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-use-such-kid-unfriendly-songs-in-the-ads-for-kids-movies/750010.md?page=1)