On stupidity and song.

There are many people who do very stupid things in advertising. I'm not pointing fingers, I've been among them.

But there's a particular brand of highly visible stupidity that I see constantly: advertisers not understanding the song they're using for their product. (this has nothing in particular to do with interactive, as the best-known examples are TV spots, but it exists in every medium with sound)

The latest example is the Lincoln MKS TV spot (http://tinyurl.com/67tf53), featuring a cover of David Bowie's Space Oddity. The whole MKS campaign tries to equate the SUV to a spaceship, (though a yacht may be more appropriate). To that end, we see the various high-tech goodies come to life as we hear Cat Power's cover - "commencing countdown, engines on", etc. Has it occurred to anyone that this song is about an astronaut dying because of an equipment malfunction? Do you really want to liken your car to a spaceship, then feature a song about a dead astronaut?
This is a particularly glaring example, since there's no doubt about the song's meaning.
Other examples are perhaps less obvious, but even worse:
Lust for Life (co-authored by David Bowie. Maybe there's a theme here, an Iggy Pop song about heroin addiction, is all over the air promoting Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. They changed the lyrics, but come on, if you know the song, you know what it's about. and Iggy Pop isn't the best association for a family-friendly vacation.

The most glaring example has to be Ronald Reagan's use of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA in his campaign as a "patriotic" anthem. Does anybody listen to the lyrics?
Anybody?

So if you're tempted to use a song in your ad, site, banner, make sure you understand what it says before you put it out there.

Next time, why a dish named "Chicken Guernica" does not make people hungry. (seen at the Spanish place a block from my apartment.)