Songs in Commercials

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We'll be back after this commercial message!! Here's a new series, looking at my favorite songs that have been used in TV commercials. I'm sure you've heard a favorite song or favorite band in a commercial and thought, "Aw (choice word), they've sold out." Let me preface the series by telling you a funny story about my favorite band from the 70s, the Eagles. Their publishing rights were owned by Warner Brothers Records, the parent conglomeration of their record label. Firestone asked to use "Take It to the Limit" in a commercial. Warner Brothers said, "Sure." The Eagles said, "Oh, no, you don't." A lawsuit ensued. (I mentioned this before: if you own an original vinyl copy of Hotel California, you'll see "copyright in dispute" at the bottom of the lyrics inside the gatefold. The lawsuit was the reason.) And, of course, they won: look at the post-"Hotel California" album, or even later issues of the albums, and you'll see the copyright changed. So, what's so funny about that? Glenn Frey, who said the reason behind the lawsuit was "Those songs are our heritage and our children's birthright," not only allowed two of his songs ("Better in the U.S.A." and "You Belong to the City") to be used in a Pepsi commercial, he appeared in the bleeping commercial!!!!! (Now, to be fair, you probably do know "Take It to the Limit," while you'd have to go listen to "You Belong to the City" or "Better in the U.S.A." to see if you have ever heard them. ) The battle lines over songs being used in commercials are clearly drawn. There are some who think their bands are demeaning themselves to have a song (or to make an appearance) in a commercial. Then Michael Jackson did it (and got burned [literally -- his hair caught fire] in the process). All of the sudden, people are tripping over themselves to appear in commercials. David Bowie and Tina Turner did a Pepsi commercial together. Miller had a series of "American beer, American music" ads that featured college bands like the Del Fuegos, the Long Ryders, and Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes. Some people balked at it, of course. The Young Fresh Fellows did a song called "Beer Money," spoofing the ads ("Now you can say that we've sold out, but that's not the way it goes 'cause the beer is free and we're on MTV and we're opening up for the Del Fuegos" ). Neil Young had a song called "This Note's For You," also spoofing the trend (with a beer can at the end of the video that said, "Sponsored by nobody"). The almost comical thing about the argument is that MTV actually banned Talking Heads' "Love for Sale" video because it had segments of over 100 commercials spliced into it amid the band being turned into chocolate figurines. But for better or worse, they are a fact of life now. And, honestly, some companies have marvelous, diverse tastes, not just sticking to big named acts. Consider Volkswagen has used everything from "Fly By Night" by Rush (with the guy doing air drums at a red light) to "Another Day, Another Dollar" by Wynn Stewart to "Pink Moon" by Nick Drake. It's risky (did Southwest Airlines take into consideration how much I loathe Steve Perry's voice when they used "Any Way You Want It" in an ad? ), but it's here to stay. So my next countdown involves some favorite songs that have popped up in commercials. Note that the position on the countdown is for the song, not the commercial. There's one song on here that I love, but the commercial is plain ridiculous. I hope you enjoy. Not making the countdown is this song, used in a Mitsubishi ad: