All Sold Out! Wheeling and Dealing In Pop Culture Currency - The Shotgun Wedding Of Art And Commerce
By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor
In 1967, The Who released their third album, the magnificent 'The Who Sell Out'. The album was, for the sake of argument, a concept album, not so much thematically, or via plotline, but rather in the way it was presented. There were band performed jingles mixed in between songs for everything from baked beans and Coca Cola to automobiles and guitar strings. Originally the idea of Who managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, the thought was upon listening to the album, it would feel like you were listening to a pirate radio station which had been an integral part of the UK underground in the mid-1960s.
In addition, the album cover featured each member of the band posed with one product or another, presented as advertising. It was brilliant, sarcastic, and exemplary Pop Art all around. Perhaps a bit lost in translation, the concept got muddied in the waters, especially the U.S. waters, but still stands as one of the Who's finest LP's. The idea, however, of a band doing ads or promotions was nothing new, but, the idea of diving head first into advertising. thus 'selling out,' was at odds with the changing times of the era, especially when it came to rock and roll music, serious rock and roll anyway, was thought to be above such folly.
Singers and other celebrities had always done ads for a variety of products, but those were movie stars, band singers, and so on. Though rock and roll sought to stand apart by the mid-1960s, no one told the Rolling Stones who, in 1964, recorded a very rocking rave-up in the name of Rice Krispies. The Stones, in fact, never shied away from partnering with the corporate beast. Their tours since 1981 have all been sponsored by outside money, starting with Jovan cologne, right up to the AARP sponsored 2024 tour.
Even in the heady days of psychedelic rebellion, if the money was right, the checks were written. Just ask Paul Revere & the Raiders (Pontiac), the Turtles (Pepsi), Iron Butterfly, who shilled for Ban Roll-On, Cream (Falstaff Beer), and let's not forget the Jefferson Airplane Levis jeans ad. These were all written, or at least recorded, by the artists for the sole purpose of product promotion.
Throughout the last few decades it's become less and less surprising to see an artist appear in a commercial with several onetime rebels gleefully joining in to plug something. Remember Alice Cooper for back to school supplies from Staples? How about Iggy Pop plugging insurance, or John Lydon for Country Life butter? Lou Reed for Honda scooters! Ozzy Osbourne not only did ads, but became a reality TV star. And that's just a few who actually appeared in commercial ventures.
Then there is the brouhaha over using an artists' song in commercial ways it was never intended for. Once shocking, it's now utterly commonplace, though can still make one cringe or go into shock. In the 80s, there was the controversy over Nike using the Beatles' 'Revolution,' thanks to Michael Jackson. Since then, of course, other Lennon songs have found their way into various outlets. Film and television placement is a different animal as there are companies whose business it is to find music for these various projects, and artists can solicit their material for use, which is all fair game of course.
Back in 2000, a Volkswagen commercial began airing showing a car full of friends driving at night. They momentarily stop at a house where there is a party going on, but all give each other a knowing glance that said, no, let's keep driving into the beautiful evening. The music that played in the background was an obscure song by British folk singer Nick Drake.
Known primarily to music obsessives and underground folk fans, Drake had recorded a brilliant trio of LP's in the early 70s, before taking his own life. Those of us who loved his recordings would often try to turn people onto his beautiful music over the years. Upon using the title track of his third album, 'Pink Moon,' in this Volkswagen ad, a lot of people started asking "What is the song in that one car commercial?" Ask anyone who worked in music retail at the time, it was a mini phenomenon of sorts.
That one ad ended up selling a lot of Nick Drake CDs, more than he had ever sold before. All of Drakes' recordings, including some unreleased material, saw the light of day, and suddenly, Nick Drake had reached an audience he never had before. In this case, it had less to do with a marketing ploy or anything so clever, and more to do with the way FM radio used to work. A DJ heard a song and thought the listeners would like it, so they put it on the air, and little by little, region by state by city, songs gained traction to eventually become hits based on the power of the music. This would become a template over time.
Now, I swear by this, though I can't find any existing proof to share, but another car commercial, set in a similar situation as the Pink Moon ad, aired used the Velvet Underground song 'Heroin' in the background. Just the opening guitar phrase, which set a similar mood to that of the Nick Drake song, and it was over. I only saw it once, and my guess is everyone signed off on the ad not knowing what the song was, and once someone inquired, the ad was pulled.
The most shocking ad to my mind, however, was a few years ago when Chevy Silverado ad came on. My wife and I had been talking and suddenly I froze and stared at the screen. "Are you ok?" she asked. I failed to respond, stunned into silence. After the ad ended I explained how the world had just ended. This Chevy truck commercial used the song 'Mary Mary, So Contrary' by the legendary, yet very obscure German band Can. A song from their 1969 debut album, 'Monster Movie,' one of the key albums in the genre known as 'Krautrock,’ this psychedelic shimmering serenade was seeping out of my television, and I was stunned. Making it even odder was that the people in the ad walk around quoting Donny and Marie Osmond. Seriously!
Less shocking, but still applause worthy, is another Chevy truck ad that recently aired that spotlights the Stooges' 'Down On The Street,' the brutal opening track from their 1970 album 'Funhouse.' Whether these are examples of an incredibly tuned in ad exec, or simply by chance, is uncertain.
One kind of sad byproduct of all this is, the death of jingle writing. That was a genuine business for struggling songwriter; they would be hired to write a catchy jingle to sell some product. Over time, the jingle has mostly gone away, though on occasion they still find a home. Similarly, take the song ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing,’ one of the most successful marriages of music and advertising.
Starting out as a song called 'True Love And Apple Pie,' written by the British duo of Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, and sung by Susan Shirley, the writers rewrote the lyrics to fit a new ad campaign for Coca Cola called "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" and included the tagline, "it's the real thing." The jingle became so massive that the writers rewrote the lyrics again, with the idea of it becoming an actual hit record. Taking out all mentions of the cola product, the song would go onto to be recorded by the Hillside Singers and the New Seekers, who both scored major Top Ten hits across the world with their respective versions. Both jingle and ad were made famous one more time when used in the Mad Men finale in 2015.
I can't help but laugh, and hope that these artists, and or their estates, are finally making some money from all this music. I laugh also because the idea of 'selling out' seems so antiquated now. Back in 1989, the heyday of MTV and bland 80s pop culture, it was a significant enough topic for Neil Young to write the song 'This Note's For You' where he proudly proclaimed that he "ain't singin' for Pepsi, Coke, Miller, Bud…" etc. and that he "don't sing for nobody" because it makes him "look like a joke." The video parodied these kinds of ads, and even won an MTV Award for 'Video Of The Year.' Today, most people would likely laugh at Young, not with him, as they quote fellow classic rocker Steve Miller, prodding Neil to take the money and run.
New and struggling bands back then such as the Del Fuegos, and the Long Ryders, both did beer commercials as a way to introduce themselves to a larger audience, showcased them as hard working, American bands on the road, yet, both, and others, got criticized for 'selling out' when the truth was, they weren't making any money from their records or tours, so they were just trying to survive. We also had the likes of Madonna and Michael Jackson, who made big budget commercials that were more about promoting themselves than any given product.
We must remember, back in the 1960s and 70s, even into the 80s, rock and roll was still seen as an important, culturally significant art form. It spoke to, and for a few different generations along the way, it changed the world. It's a very different landscape now, and it seems very few people are very concerned with a band 'selling out,' in fact at this point, most people probably think it's cool. So much ‘success’ is derived from what are essentially commercials on Tik Tok and so forth as it is. Obviously, there are still many artists out there who would cringe at the thought of swimming in corporate waters. Personally, I'd rather see a band cozy up next to a car company for some quick cash, instead of selling their souls to the I-Heart Media monster. I'll give the final word here to Mr. Bob Dylan. The folk scene, even more than the rock scene, was certainly miles away from such commercial endeavors and endorsements. Back in a now famous interview, done at a 1965 press conference in San Francisco, Dylan was asked, "if you were going to sell out to a commercial interest, which one would you choose?” Ever the quick wit, Dylan paused amid nervous laughter from the crowd, and answered, "um, ladies garments." And what do you know, in 2004 an ad appeared for Victoria's Secret that not only used the Dylan song 'Love Sick,' from the 'Time Out Of Mind' album, but there's Bob wandering through the ad. He always was a man of his word.