Sunday, January 20, 2008
You Can't Always Get What You Want
I am often curious to see how advertisers use music when they incorporate well known songs into their pitches. I try to determine the message or connection between the song and the product or service. For some, you have to wonder either what the creative people were thinking or whether the audience is paying attention.
Example - CBS has been promoting its broadcast of the 50th Grammy Awards on a lot of the NFL games I've watched. The ads begin with the iconic guitar riff that starts the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction. That riff is almost guaranteed to cause the audience to pay attention. Admit it - as you read this, you hear it in your head. Maybe you are even singing the guitar intro out loud.
But what is the connection between the Stones and the Grammys? Not much. In their illustrious career, the band has won a grand total of one Grammy (in 1995 for Best Rock Album for Voodoo Lounge) plus a lifetime achievement award. The Grammys have a history of ignoring groundbreaking and trend-setting performers with the Stones as a prime example. So of course their music is a perfect fit for promoting the Grammys.
A side observation - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will play at halftime of the Super Bowl this year. I would love to hear them play two songs whose lyrics honor the NFL and its players:
Example - CBS has been promoting its broadcast of the 50th Grammy Awards on a lot of the NFL games I've watched. The ads begin with the iconic guitar riff that starts the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction. That riff is almost guaranteed to cause the audience to pay attention. Admit it - as you read this, you hear it in your head. Maybe you are even singing the guitar intro out loud.
But what is the connection between the Stones and the Grammys? Not much. In their illustrious career, the band has won a grand total of one Grammy (in 1995 for Best Rock Album for Voodoo Lounge) plus a lifetime achievement award. The Grammys have a history of ignoring groundbreaking and trend-setting performers with the Stones as a prime example. So of course their music is a perfect fit for promoting the Grammys.
A side observation - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will play at halftime of the Super Bowl this year. I would love to hear them play two songs whose lyrics honor the NFL and its players:
- Century City - "Sometimes I wanna leave here" then "We're gonna live in Century City, Go ahead and give in (Century City) like modern men, And modern girls, we're gonna live in the modern world." (in recognition of the lack of teams in the LA area)
- Listen to Her Heart- "You think you're going to take her away, with your money and your cocaine."
