There’s nothing I’d love more than to make a bit of money off my music — like, enough to break even for starters. Having someone cool cover some Area Resident, or getting one of my songs used in a soundtrack or ad definitely would be most welcome. I say this even though I am well aware of the perils of music commercialization. And this is something we’re gonna have some fun with in this edition of Stylus Counsel.
What I’m talking about specifically are songs that have not only been used in ads — but which have also been adjusted, reworked or altered to more specifically relate to the product or service being advertised.
Let’s start with the one that brought me here. This terrifying Ozempic ad which features a revamp of the song Magic by Pilot from back in 1975 — a No. 1 hit in Canada by the Scottish band formed by former Bay City Roller David Paton. The commercial version is at the top of this post. And here’s the original:
I wonder if Brian Wilson made more money off David Lee Roth’s 1985 cover of California Girls or this version from a Clairol shampoo commerical from 1976. Either way, now you’ve got the phrase “I wish they all could have Herbal Essences hair” stuck in you brain. For what it’s worth, I miss slow-motion hair-tossing commercials… and that guy who used to slice up Irish Spring soap with a pocket knife, for some reason.
I actually think Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale were probably pretty happy with the Swiff ‘Er version of Whip It — Devo’s biggest hit by a long shot. At first blush, you might think the 2003 TV spot is pretty respectful of the original. But that’s because the band actually did this version for the ad. It’s a song which was born for commercial and comedic usage. I’ve actually used it myself in a TV news story about a Petawawa family’s Thanksgiving traditions. Both parents were tattoo artists, so they inked the turkey and then took their whippet to the park for a game of fetch while it roasted. I attached a small camera to the dog (whose name was Diva) and used the footage for cut-ins, while Whip It by Devo played. Even better, though, is Waylon Smithers singing Licorice Whip in one of the old Simpsons episodes from the ’90s.
Like Devo, Elton John also went into a studio to re-record a few lines of Sad Songs (Say So Much) so it could be used in a 1984 Sasson jeans commercial:
Aretha Franklin’s Think, used prominently in the 1980 Blues Brothers film, gets repurposed here for this 2010 Think Extreme Value ad for the Big Lots discount stores chain. Franklin was still alive then, but given the anarchy around her estate, who knows if and what she ever got paid for this. Or if the cheque fell between the sofa cushions, never to be seen again.
Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald’s classic 1946 hit It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) was used for years — starting in the mid-’80s — by Glad for their Handi-Wrap commercials. All they had to do was substitute the word cling for swing.
Even more than Whip It, Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse Of The Heart screams out for repurposing. Fibre 1 snack bars did a fantastic job making a pretty funny commercial about hungry Barry, who “gets a little bit tired of living off the taste of the air.” Full marks.
This next one is a bit of a reach. In fact, it feels like the ad is partially designed to explain the use of the song. The drug Trelegy is used to treat people with COPD by helping to open airways, keep them open and reduce inflammation. Three things — and three equals “tri.” Or, in this case tre. Short for Trelegy. They could have used knock three times but instead, the GSK pharmaceutical company chose ABC by The Jackson 5, for its 1,2,3 refrain and the fact that Trelegy rhymes with ABC.
But an even better rhyme? Yeah — Rakuten and Rocket Man. Move over William Shatner, we have a new best-horrible version.
Of course, money doesn’t always change hands for this kind of re-use of music in commercials. Kevin Parker took to Instagram after he heard something that sounded an awful lot like his Tame Impala song The Less I Know The Better, used in a blueberry milk commercial.
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Considered the most famous commercial jingle of all time, I’d Like To Buy The World A Coke became a hit in 1971 after the ad started running on the radio. Listeners would call and ask for it to be played again. The original version for the ad was sung by The Hillside Singers, and it actually charted at No. 12. The creative team had the song re-recorded by The New Seekers as I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony) and it became a Top 10 hit — basically the opposite of what we’re talking about here.
But there’s a 1980s example of a jingle based on a real song not only making the jingle famous, but the animated fake band famous as well. I’m talking about The California Raisins, of course. The first commercial featuring the cartoon soul-singing raisins aired in 1986. They did an adapted version of Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It Through The Grapevine. It was so popular that suddenly the raisins were everywhere. They had TV specials, films, video games, books, toys, heaps more commercials and even albums — four of them in two years. The lead vocalist of The California Raisins was none other than Buddy Miles of The Electric Flag and Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys. Their version of Grapevine got to No. 84 on the Billboard Top 100. Not bad, but nowhere close to versions by Gaye, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Creedence Clearwater Revival or Roger Troutman.
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Area Resident is an Ottawa-based journalist, recording artist, music collector and re-seller. Hear (and buy) his music on Bandcamp, email him HERE, follow him on Instagram and check him out on Discogs.
