Old Music New Commerical

I’ve gotten used to it. Walking through a store and hearing some hard rock or hair metal tune from my youth and it gives me some mixed emotions. I mean I don’t hate hearing songs I really like. But, at the same time, that music wasn’t exactly mainstream back in the day. So when did it become so acceptable??

It gets worse when they start using it in commercials. Some motel chain used “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by the Clash in an ad. You start grooving to the song and then it hits you that somebody decided to use our music to sell you something. Then you wonder who sold out and allowed the song to be used that way.

Maybe the ad person was a Clash fan growing up. I guess the world forces us all to grow up at some point. So they use the music to bring us back to our younger days when you didn’t have so many things to worry about.

A couple of years ago, Geico used the band Ratt in one of their commercials. The actual band as it exists today playing what I would assume was their biggest hit. From an album that I actually own (and bought when it came out). Maybe the song has just become more popular over the years but it makes me wonder who the target audience was.

I thought the commercial was funny and I wanted to like it. But there is that whole mixed emotion thing again. When I was cranking this tune when it first came out, the last thing I was thinking about was insurance.

I suppose it is inevitable. As I said we all grow up and when you are an adult, you have to think about things like home and car insurance. Still, am I supposed to feel something special for Geico because they used a hair metal band in their commercial. Is that supposed to make them more “cool” in my eyes. Maybe it does for some, but not really for me.

Then, today, I saw a commercial for Capital One featuring Slash from Guns N’ Roses where he plays the opening riff to Sweet Child O’ Mine. Really?!? Again, I thought it was a funny ad. Maybe it is the contrast that I’m supposed to find funny. Would you ever have expected anyone from GNR to be doing a commercial for something as boring and mainstream as a bank?

I don’t know who makes those kind of decisions but I’m picturing some stuffy meeting room with a bunch of bland bank executives listening to a pitch from an equally bland ad agency. “Yeah, we have a great idea, we’ll use Slash in the next commercial”. How many of them even know who Slash was or ever listened to a GNR song? Again, I can’t picture bank people rocking out to GNR.

I guess that’s the problem with pulling out songs like this. You weren’t listening to GNR thinking about banking back in the day. Now hearing that riff in a commercial, it is just a reminder of days gone by. I suppose the nostalgia appeals to some and maybe it makes the bank appear more “cool” to others.

Me? I’d just prefer it if you’d leave my music alone thank you very much.