For several years now, marketing execs have favored chart-topping pop over original compositions when setting the aural backdrop for ads; as the Economist noted in 2003, it’s the assumption that a familiar tune will resonate with consumers more than an untested jingle. However, the original song’s intent and the product being pushed often make for hilarious incongruity. When Slate asked readers to submit the most egregious examples of music misused in advertising back in 2005, dozens voted for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines’ curious campaign featuring Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" ("Nothing says maritime comfort like a song about shooting up junk," one participant told Slate). After culling through a multitude of musically enhanced ads, we've picked the following nine as the most irksome recent offenders.
Indie stalwarts Of Montreal received plenty of flak from the Pitchfork set for selling “Wraith Pinned To the Mist” to Outback Steakhouse. The track, from 2005’s acclaimed Sunlandic Twins, features outré frontman Kevin Barnes waxing lyrical about Tristan and Isolde, mythological beasts and immortality. For the commercial, the meat-loving chain changed the lyric “Let’s pretend we don’t exist; let’s pretend we’re in Antarctica” to the more-convivial “Let's go to Outback tonight… life will still be here tomorrow.” And we’re pretty sure when Barnes suggests “Let’s have bizarre celebrations,” he doesn’t have Outback’s staid setting in mind.
Due to its title and upbeat ska-tinged arrangement, Vampire Weekend’s “Holiday” was an obvious Madison Avenue favorite during Christmastime, appearing in spots for both Tommy Hilfiger and Honda. But if you thought the band was feeling festive when composing the song, think again. “The lyrics refer to a member of my family who gave up eating meat when we invaded Iraq,” lead singer Ezra Koenig told NME. “They were horrified by what was happening internationally and they lost their taste for meat. It wasn’t even necessarily an overt protest, it was a physical reaction.”
The first time we heard the New Pornographers’ Carl Newman muse about “the phantom taste drinking wine from your heels” in 2005’s “Bleeding Heart Show,” our thoughts strangely didn’t turn to ... for-profit online education. But nonetheless, the folks at the University Of Phoenix felt differently and tapped the track for one of its campaigns. We’re not exactly sure whether the line “We quit the room; quit so our thoughts could rest” portrays web-based learning in the most rigorous light.
Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars told Pitchfork that, regarding the band’s infectious single "Lisztomania" (named for 19th-century composer Franz Liszt), “There was this romantic idea that appealed to us-- it's almost like an Austrian way to see things, like it belongs to a museum or something.” This European viewpoint is clearly lacking in a recent McDondalds commercial for egg Mcmuffins and assorted lowcal breakfast fare, which features a melody that’s strikingly similar to the Phoenix track.
Wilco’s “Walken” sets a sweet, romantic scene: Jeff Tweedy sings of strolling alone, overcome with amorous thoughts (sample lyric: “The more I think about it, the more I'm sure it's you”). In fact, few songs are less likely to make us wish to be confined to a vehicle with a screaming infant. So, we found it an odd choice for this 2007 Volkswagen ad.
Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” was famously inspired by drummer Kelly Keagy's observation that his younger sister was coming of age. “It was about her growing up and realizing boys exist,” Keagy explained in an interview. But when the classic power ballad was reworked into a cloying jingle for football gear in a recent Old Navy ad about rival sports fans uniting over pizza, the sexual awakening of a sibling was not an apparent theme.
The title of one-hit wonder EMF’s “Unbelievable,” was certainly not meant in a positive sense: The narrator lists a litany of grievances against the song’s subject (for example, burdening him with questions and somesuch). But the ad whizzes behind Kraft’s Crumbles campaign modified the catchy chorus to proclaim its cheese nuggets “Crumbelievable!” (Even Stephen Colbert mocked the made-up catchphrase.)
Arcade Fire’s cathartic “Wake Up,” hailed as “emotionally harrowing” by NME, features self-revelatory declarations such as “Now that I'm older, my heart's colder, and I can see that it's a lie.” Not surprisingly, fans weren’t thrilled to hear a tune reminiscent of the anthem in a Microsoft promo (though MSN maintained that the music was a “commissioned original piece” in a statement to CNET). Perhaps the lyric “someone told me not to cry” might speak to those unhappy with Bing’s search capabilities.
“Love is a burning thing and it makes a fiery ring,” begins the Johnny Cash hit “Ring of Fire.” The song’s title refers to blazing passions --and if you ask Applebees, smoked chicken platters. But here’s the bright side: Attempts to use the Cash classic to peddle hemorrhoid-relief products in 2009 were blocked by the musician’s family.