Baby, Won't You Sell My Car? - rocking out to auto commercia

[I Will Deny You]

Oh-What-a-Feeling is out. Oh-What-a-Sountrack is in. Car commercials, long home to cloying corporate jingles, are increasingly leaving the music to the professionals. From Sting to Geggy Tah, rockers have eagerly licensed their tunes to automakers--both for up-front cash and the boon of steady airplay on the small screen. But the marriage of song and sedan isn't always one of sales and synergy. Off-color lyrics can clash with the corporate pitch, and occasionally a band insists on selling out in style: Witness Chumbawumba, who sold a song to Pontiac for $100,000 but gave the cash to activists bent on exposing GM's environmental record. Here, a snap assessment of recent auto spots, judging just how well the music sells the motorcar. --Tim Dickinson

Artist/Song: Chumbawumba "Pass it Along"
Car: Pontiac
What goes on in the ad: Main Street Americans win keys to a Pontiac to go on a reality-TV-style road trip. After a week with the car, they "pass it along" to the next, er, winner.
What the song's about: Finding despair on the Internet: "Shut out the world. It's getting worse. Save yourself, don't leave the house. Aaah, where do you want to go today?
How they work together: The anti-Microsoft lyrics should have alarmed someone in Detroit. No in-house juingle could be worse than this. D-

Artist/Song: Geggy Tah "Whoever You Are"
Car: Mercedes C-Coupe
What goes on in the ad: Scruffy, dot-com-wunderkind type cruises in his coupe, groovin' to the stereo, windows down, plastic bag swirling American Beauty-like in the backseat.
What the song's about: A random act of kindness: "All I wanna do is to thank you, even though I don't know who you are. You let me chaaange lanes while I was driving in my car."
How they work together: A driving song that drives home the message. Hum-it-in-the-fast-lane infectious. A-

Artist/Song: Nick Drake "Pink Moon"
Car: Volkswagen Cabrio
What goes on in the ad: Hipper-than-thou college kids take a moonlit, top-down drive to a party. The kegger in unappealing after the spiritual cruising, so they pop it in reverse and drive off after the moon.
What the song's about: We're not sure, but it's more creepy than good: "I saw it written and I saw it said: A pink moon is on its way."
How they work together: Nothing says Fahrvergnugen like the signature tune of a forlorn folkster most famous for OD-ing on antidepressants at age 26. C-

Artist/Song:Led Zeppelin "Rock and Roll"
Car: Cadillac
What goes on in the ad: Restyled Caddies with grotesque angular headlights zip and zoom to the strains of this '71 heavy-metal classic.
What the song's about: An extended sex drought: "Been a long time since I rock and rolled. Been a long time since I took that stroll. . . . Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lone-ly time."
How they work together: Given that the average age of a Caddy buyer is 63, we suspect it's been a long time indeed. Actual synergy: D Unintended ironic synergy: A+
[hr]
I saw this in Mother Jones and thought you all might enjoy it.

Lindsay

(Edited by I Will Deny You at 12:47 am on May 21, 2002)

[Valkyrie]

Yeah! I was just thinkng the same thing yesterday when I saw the classic Led Zep tune being whored down the river. What a shame! And not only cars: They used a seried of The Band songs for advertising for something. Whatever it was it was unmemorable, (good thing too.) But yeah, it sucks!! :(:(:(:(:(:(:(

(Edited by Paris at 5:54 am on May 21, 2002)

[Fires of History]

I haven't seen most of these as I don't watch much TV, but I caught the end of the 'Rock and Roll' ad at a friend's house. WHAT A PISS OFF! It reminds me of the 'Think Different' ads by Apple.

I was at first shocked to see Chumbawumba there, but then I read what they did with the money. Right on! What do you guys think about that? Is that "selling out"?

[I Will Deny You]

I have even worse news to report, comrades. I was watching an old tape, because I'm not exactly up on my television-viewing, and I saw a car commerical with "Free Your Mind" in it! This is absolutely awful. That's one of my favorite songs, and it has a great message to boot.

Hopefully, it will at least introduce the younger kids to En Vogue.

Lindsay

[man in the red suit]

God dam I hate that shit. The cadilac comercial ruined that Led Zeppelin song for me.

IWDY: you forgot S.T.P's wicked garden

they made some stupid truck comercial out of that one.

[Anonymous]

Any people can tell me the music for the yellow volkswagen advert? Car goes along, lots of people look at it end of story, hey its not a good advert but the music sounds great

[guerrillaradio]

Anyone seen the Lexus ad where the guy's driving through a deserted Venice?? The music to that is some swirling operatic, dramatic classical-sounding music. It's by Martin Grech, this 19yrold from London. He actually does intense industrial rock, so people turn up to his gigs expecting Dvorak or something and get Ministry instead...hehe. He rules.

And what's the ad which has Hawkwind's Silver Machine on it?? I think it might be Vauxhall but I can't remember...

(Edited by guerrillaradio at 3:42 pm on Aug. 6, 2002)

[Anonymous]

I love that music!

[Anonymous]

Its all right, ive found the music id been looking for, you can call off the general alert and bring the troops home.