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Are cheesy lyrical ads outdated?

Posted in General, Advertising, Marketing, Creative, Mel Varley, Latest reporters' blogs January 28th, 2008 by Melinda Varley

Sheila's Wheels Poor Halifax has been scolded by the public for its latest advert starring yet another one of its employees for being too ‘cheesy.’ Is the ‘singing and dancing’ genre of ads outdated?

Sheila’s Wheels, although it may be my least favourite ad and even has Facebook groups trying to have it banned, is an extremely successful campaign. Believe it or not but those singing pink beauties actually got the Sheila’s Wheels name in our heads and took the insurance company for a ride of the highway of success.

Furthermore, the ‘Sheila’s’ became a success in their own right and are set to release their first single, produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman, the producers behind Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan – they should be so lucky.

Another little gem in the cheesy rough is Diamond’s new campaign – Diamond are a girl’s best friend. Very cute ad as it reinacts Marylin Monroe’s role in 1949’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and the song is currently stuck in my head and has been since I saw it yesterday afternoon.

These ads are catchy, and make us sing along and worst of all, but best of all for them, they stick in our head making us constantly think of that product.

A few years ago Burger King brought out an ad with the song, Hungry Eyes, and showed peoples eyes widening at the prospect of its burgers. To this day, even when the song is played during Dirty Dancing, I think about Burger King when I hear it.

Phil Collins’ ‘In the Air Tonight’ makes me think about Cadburys and I cannot listen to Aretha Franklin’s THINK! without adding – ‘about your current account today.’

Is the use of these popular and catching songs, annoying and as cheesy as they may be, good marketing or unimaginative?

You must admit, they sometimes look cheap and ill thought and many may criticise the fact that the marketers could not come up with their own slogans and theme tunes. But they do work, and most of all, they get us talking about it.

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Tags TV Advertising, Halifax Advert, Sheila's Wheels, Facebook, Advert Music

Comments (4)

namrita’s comment is....

I agree! As annoying as it is, whenever I see Danone, I can’t help but say ‘mmmm danone’ (with that sing song voice). It may be cheesy or unimaginative but it works…memories are closely related to senses, including sound.

Posted January 29th, 2008 at 10:59 am

furzedowner’s comment is....

Yes. its true, however annoying it may be (in fact the more annoying it can be) music works, sometimes decades after the products gone (shake’n'vac, martini, cornetto)

Posted January 30th, 2008 at 12:34 pm

Hayes Thompson’s comment is....

Music works, of course.

I still remember the music from some ads from when I was growing up in America in the early 80s, over 20 years ago.

Just as memorable as some of the hits that Howard Stern was playing on DC101, the local radio station.

Maybe the ads were even more memorable because they were so catchy - and isn’t there an element of annoyingness in all catchy tunes?

But seriously now, who the f*&%@ is going to remember the music to these Halifax ads in even five years? OK, so they’ll remember Halifax but for all the wrong reasons, surely?

I want to know my bank is spending my money wisely, not squirting it away in suntan bottles from the beaches of South Africa, on the set of a £million ad.

If you want a recent, decent example of an all singing, all dancing ad, how about the Sunflower Park TV ad for McCain’s oven chips? What do people think of that one?

(And no, I didn’t have anything to do with it.)

Posted January 30th, 2008 at 1:14 pm

Melinda Varley’s comment is....

Personally I love the McCain ads. The whole ‘musical’ concept really pays off for them - mainly because they’ve owned the song and lyrics. It’s completely original.

Posted January 30th, 2008 at 2:33 pm

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