The ads that ran in the 50's & 60's were "worthy" (IMO) because they were usually "jingle" based. It takes a clever campaign to come up with a catchy jingle that you find yourself singing for no apparent reason.
And that is part of my point. It seems that the jingle is basically dead. The only current ones that come to mind that "catch" my ear are:
Sears: "Come see the softer side of Sears!"
Toyota: "I love what you do for me, Toyota!"
Coca-Cola: "Coke is it!"
Basically one-liners and aren't anywhere near as good as less current ones from the 70's like:
Burger King: "Have it YOUR way, have it your way..."
McDonald's: "McDonalds is my kind of place...etc"
Coca-Cola: "It's the re-al thing..Coca-Co-o-la. What the world wants to see...is the re-al thing.."
WHAT HAPPENED?
Now they just use any song from the past that remotely fits. It's ALOT easier and it put all the jingle people out of business. It's laziness IMO and utter lack of creativity. Who ARE these new ad people? UGH!
With all the money they must be paying in song royalties you'd think they could hire some clever ad people to come up with a good campaign. Of course, as Phillip in a previous post said, they are trying to cater to all of us baby-boomers but that doesn't mean it's working!
And I certainly don't begrudge the songwriter's/artists their cut but CERTAIN SONGS ARE SACRED CLASSICS AND SHOULDN'T BE BASTARDIZED. And I believe that should be taken into account if they plan on continuing this trend.
Otherwise, we can expect future ad campaigns from companies like Dial Soap using classics like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" as it's theme song,
Aside from all that I would have LOVED to have known your brother, Jay. I have a penchant for trivia as well and especially all things vintage & TV themes & commercials. Bet he was an interesting "personality"
And I am glad that the Miller ads that used his favorite song became a pleasant & ironic reminder of him--as you said, "He remembered the commercials. Now they remember him!" A great tribute!
But that particular song (which I don't recall---the name is: "Alone Again, or" Or what?) while good, probably would not be considered a "classic" in the sense that EVERYONE knows it. And for every person like you who can get enjoyment out of hearing it played that way, there are others who would not have that "ironic" sentiment attached to it and would be horrified.
Those numbers escalate when so many classics with so many people having an emotional attachment get obliterated by a repetitive & inappropriate commercial campaign that dilutes & denigrates the purity of the song.
Ahhhh well, it's late again and I DO go on & on. Look forward to more of your comments, Jay!
anyone else not an SI member, e-mail me at xanaid@yahoo.com & I'll post your response!
Diana
PS Oh, Jay, you said good songs "will live on" regardless of their usage & will "outlive the ad. True. But I only have THIS lifetime to cherish MY memories and I don't appreciate Corporate America & their Ad boys mucking it up!
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