Music From Commercials

Yeah, we all tend to hate commercials. Non-stop interruptions, same dumb ads over and over. But there are some good things that occasionally come out of commercials. Sometimes, there are pop culture references that become integrated into the mainstream, such as the “Wazzzzzzup” bud light commercials, or the Geico Caveman ads (which got morphed into a lame series).

Once in a while, commercials can be a vehicle for obscure bands to hit the limelight. Volkswagen a few years ago did a commercial with the fabulous Nick Drake singing “Pink Moon”. Apparently, Volkswagon had thousands of emails asking who the artist was, and what song it was. Unfortunately for Nick, he was not around to enjoy his rise from obscurity, since he died years earlier. If you ever get to check out his album, he is a very haunting song writer.

Lately, I’ve seen this Liberty Mutual Insurance commercial, and I can’t get the soundtrack out of my mind. It is a haunting, mellow female voice… a perfect choice for the commercial. So I went online, checked it out (thanks to Hill/Holliday Blog), and the artist is Hem (yes, they are very much alive), an alternative mellow rock group. The name of the song is “The Part Where You Let Go”. Check it out on itunes. A couple of other songs that are really cool are “Hollow” and “Half Acre”. It is fresh, especially if you like acoustic music like I do. Here is their web site.

For those of us in marketing, it is a poignant reminder of the power of emotion in advertising, and how much it is amplified with the right music. So next time you read one of my blog posts about the state of the real estate market, pretend the song “Getting Better” or “Good Vibrations” is playing in the background.

And now, back to the world of Pleasanton & Tri-Valley Real Estate….