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Inappropriate appropriation

Posted in Advertising February 21st, 2007 by Stuart Aitken

Do advertisers have a responsibility to maintain the artistic integrity of individual songs? We examine some classic examples which suggest that they might not be too concerned about the context in which music is used.

Getting the music right in an advert is of course a crucial thing. Think about the last two Sony Bravia ads for instance. In the first one Jose Gonzalez’s lush guitar playing complemented the bouncing balls perfectly and practically made the advert. The second advert shunned subtlety for bombast. Featuring music from Rossini’s Thieving Magpie the advert roared onto screens demanding “LOOK AND LISTEN TO ME!” – and was much the worse for it.

But beyond just getting the music right, do advertisers have a responsibility to maintain the artistic integrity of individual songs?

Music by its very nature is a personal experience. Listeners build up strong bonds with artists and individual tracks. By using them in the wrong context advertisers can destroy these bonds.

My reason for thinking about this so much at this time in particular is the recent T-Mobile advert which features music by avant garde cellist and latterly disco convert, Arthur Russell.

I can acknowledge that in this case this is perhaps a personal hang up – although it is shared by most loyal Arthur Russell fans. I can’t think of many artists whose music is less suitable to be used in an advert. Russell was after all an artist from the late 70s, early 80s New York downtown scene who shunned commercial success to explore his unique sound. He was a Buddhist who once sang “Someone tried to call me up / But I don’t even have a phone”. His songs are intensely personal - at the time of his death in 1992 The Village Voice wrote: “His songs were so personal that it seems as though he simply vanished into his music.”

Exactly what Russell’s music has to do with a multi-national phone company is certainly not immediately apparent.

Perhaps Tom Waits can explain it better than me. Speaking about a case against Frito Lay who used a soundalike version of Step Right Up, Waits explains: “Songs carry emotional information and some transport us back to a poignant time, place or event in our lives. It’s no wonder a corporation would want to hitch a ride on the spell these songs cast and encourage you to buy soft drinks, underwear or automobiles while you’re in the trance.”

However there are even stranger examples than the T-Mobile campaign. Think of the Mercedes advert which used the Janis Joplin song Mercedes Benz. Here a song which rails against the shallowness of consumer society - “Oh lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz? / My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends” – has been turned on its head to suggest that in fact it would be great to own a Mercedes Benz.

Then there is the Nike advert which dared to suggest that Johnny Cash’s Hurt was not about the death of his long-term partner but was actually an ode to an athlete hitting the pain barrier. See:

The real danger is that some songs simply lose all meaning. Think of Marlena Shaw’s magnificent California Soul. Who can listen to that any more without thinking regretfully about a bucket of fried chicken?

Having said this, there is also the plain absurd, as seen in the recent Mars campaign which featured - for no apparent reason - New Order’s Blue Monday.

Think also of the Dunlop ad which featured the Velvet Undergound’s Venus in Furs:

The link between tyres and fetish is presumably rubber but there the similarities end.

Finally there is the case of Jack White of the White Stripes who actually wrote a song for Coke. I don’t normally allow Noel Gallagher to do my talking for me but when he said: “Jack White has written a song for Coca-Cola. End of. He ceases to be in the club. And he looks like Zorro on doughnuts” - he may just have been on to something.

Has one of your favourite songs been “stolen” by advertisers? Share your story…