When you think of traffic lights, reincarnation, mind reading, and jugglers, do you think of the Palm Pre cellphone?
That's the range of topics translucent skinned actress Tamara Hope (playing a character Palm is calling "Anima") discusses in a strange series of Palm Precellphonecommercials. The ads with the blonde actress speaking softly about the metaphysical properties of the Palm Pre have gained attention, although it may not be what the phone maker intended, if Twitter user comments are any indication. The Palm Pre ad campaign has already spawnedseveralparodies. The surreal talking head Palm ads offer a stark contrast to the more conventional Sprint Now Network commercials (one featuring the song "Doorway" by Io Echo) that also highlight the Palm Pre.
Created by ad agency Modernista, the new Palm Pre commercials followed a slightly different launch commercial called "Flow" (which used the song "Lower Your Eyelids to Die with the Sun" by M83) that featured the blonde actress along with a group of dancers (clearly "inspired" by the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics), helmed by film director Tarsem Singh.
Gary Koepke, the Palm ad campaign's executive creative director, responded to charges the Palm campaign is too "creepy":
"We weren't trying to creep people out, but one thing I have learned now in this digital age is people can be as rude as they want as long as they don't have to look you in the face," Mr. Koepke said. "The Pre is probably being talked about more than other phones right now because of the marketing and advertising, and that's a good thing. Could the ads work harder to show exactly how the phone works? Yes, but we knew it would be polarizing people to have a woman not shout at them and tell an interesting story."
Although a new ad for the Pre seems to appear every day, music used in Palm Pre tv spots include: "Doot Doot" by Freur, "Tunnel" by The Dining Rooms, "Buildings and People" by Marconi Union, and "Knuddelmaus" by Ulrich Schnauss.
For a new 2010 Toyota Prius commercial, Toyota commissioned the services of a distinct vocal harmony on the song "Let Your Love Flow" to complement the sunny visuals created for their popular auto:
For this 3rd generation Toyota Prius commercial, singer Petra Haden sings an a capella cover version of "Let Your Love Flow" (originally by The Bellamy Brothers), singing all the parts of the song herself, with no instruments. Toyota has produced a series of commercials all featuring vocals by Haden, including Prius ads called "Harmony", "MPG", and "Solar". Each TV spot highlights different aspects of the Toyota Prius.
Originally by 1980s German synthpop musician Peter Schilling, "Major Tom (Coming Home)" is one of several songs referencing the fictional astronaut Major Tom character created by David Bowie. Major Tom first appeared in the song "Space Oddity" by Bowie. Given that connection to the same Bowie character, it only makes sense that the new Lincoln ad features an "ad song sequel" to the previous 2009 Lincoln MKZ "Liftoff" commercial. That ad uses a cover of "Space Oddity" by artist Cat Power. (Which sadly, like all Cat Power TV commercial cover songs, is not available to the public.)
Apart from their new cover song in the Lincoln TV spot, the group Shiny Toy Guns are no strangers to TV commercial ad music -- their song "Le Disko" was featured in a Motorola Motorola RAZR 2 commercial.
In a move that more companies are finally starting to embrace, Lincoln has posted the song "Major Tom (Coming Home)" as a free download on their official website. It is good to see an American automaker doing something right.
Update: Well it looks like we spoke too soon. Lincoln has removed the free song download from their site. It must have been the "American automaker doing something right" comment that jinxed it. According to a rep for Ford on Twitter: Our initial agreement w/ Shiny Toy Guns was 30K downloads. They went fast once we hit twitter, facebook. Sorry could not get more
Most television viewers do not normally associate local TV commercials with well produced ad music. But leave it to a local Austin Texas commercial to raise the bar on local TV ads with an infectious song called "Take Me to Reid's".
The TV commercial for Austin Texas based Reid's Cleaners and Laundry is an interesting mix of some old and new ideas for television advertising: The all but extinct ad jingle combined with the very modern trend of an indie female singer providing the vocals for the commercial's catchy song.
The "Reid's cleaner girl" singing and performing in the TV ad is Austin singer Erin Ivey, also known as "Austin's urban folk sweetheart". For Ivey, the commercial represents an effective way to reach new audiences, especially in the competitive Austin indie music scene. Erin Ivey, on the reaction to her Reid's Cleaners commercial:
The impact so far has been surprising. I've been invited on television and radio programs to talk about the commercial and then been able to perform or promote my own music to their audiences. Austin is an interesting town for musicians. There's great talent totally saturating a market that is growing and changing all the time. So, I'm excited about any boost in exposure that leads people to the music. Ultimately, that's my focus: creating and performing my own music.
Ivey announced on her blog: "I sold my soul to the sultans of clean." This tongue-in-cheek post prompted us to ask her how she felt about musicians performing in TV commercials and the antiquated idea that ad music is "selling out":
Great music makes anything better, in any medium, and co-branding introduces musicians to a wider range of possible fans than they might otherwise reach. I am all for making a living in creative work, but it is imperative that the musicians are fairly compensated and agree with the ideals of the company being promoted. Hopefully musicians are in a position to make wise choices that way, but when bills are due and Dinosaur Corp. is at the door with a check, that's a tough decision that each person has to make on their own.
The "Take Me to Reid's" song was written by songwriter (and Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at University of Texas at Austin) Dr. John Mills. "I've been pretty amazed at the amount of attention the Reid's spot has gathered, which is always what you aim for when writing ad music, of course," said Mills. "It's a little odd, but nice to overhear strangers talking about it, or even humming it."
The Reid's Cleaners TV ad campaign was created by the Lee Tilford Agency. According to Jamie Tilford, the reaction to the commercial has been extremely positive and Reid's has seen a "hugh increase in business" thanks to the spot. The Reid's commercial is the first in a series of commercials featuring Ivey, which promises to keep the TV jingle fresh in the minds of Austin viewers.
You can hear more of Erin Ivey on her latest release Sweet Little E.P..
As if you did not already know, "The Big Game" (aka Super Bowl XLIII aka Super Bowl 43) is Sunday on NBC.
Adland has an on-going rundown of all of the 2009 Super Bowl commercials scheduled to run during the NFL's big game. Look for TV commercials during the game from Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Cash4Gold.com Careerbuilder.com, and as always, GoDaddy.com.
There will be two ads in 3D (using 3D glasses NBC wants you to hold onto for the 3D episode of the series Chuck on the following night), one for Pepsi's SoBe Lifewater and the other a trailer for the Dreamworks animated film Monsters vs. Aliens.
Can't wait until Sunday? Adweek has posted several videos of the 2009 Superbowl commercials available to view online. Although, some of the Super Bowl ad videos are only "teasers" and are not the full television commercials. Why an advertiser thinks showing you 7 seconds of a 30 second commercial is an effective promotion for their million dollar ad buy is beyond us.
You can follow the football game online through various social media sites and blogs: The NFL has it's own Super Bowl on Twitter. Discuss the Super Bowl ads via your own Twitter feed or visit The Consumerist live-blogging the TV ads during the game.
View the Super Bowl TV commercials online during and after the game: AOL FanHouse, YouTube
