By Brian Divver, Cathy Heard, and Jen Oliver, WXPN Web Team

As much as the WXPN web team has nostalgia for the original jingles of yesteryear, our nerves are frequently rankled by the long tradition of pop songs tainted by advertising and songs recorded specifically for marketing use. Here’s a sampling of the good, the bad and the ugly of pop music in commercials.

Major Offenders: Pepsi

Pepsi Free
To the tune of Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family”

Michael Jackson - The Choice of a New Generation

Pepsi jumps on the “Miami Vice” bandwagon with spokeperson Don Johnson
Set to Glenn Frey’s “You Belong to the City”

Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” Pepsi ad
Aired only once before it was banned in the wake of its controversial MTV video counterpart’s debut

Britney Spears and Bob Dole
Mildly disturbing Pepsi commercial that referenced Dole’s “sexual dysfunction issues”

Van Halen - Right Now
So much like a commercial in the first place the video barely needed to be edited to promote Pepsi

Ray Charles - You Got The Right One, Baby
Spice Girls - Pepsi Next

Major Offenders: Coke

Jack White pens a song specifically for Coke
Paula Abdul and Elton John team up to shill for Diet Coke
Elton John - “The One”
One extremely tacky Diet Coke commercial that digitally inserted footage of Humphrey Bogart drinking Diet Coke

Major Offenders: The Gap

Depeche Mode - Just Can’t Get Enough

Madonna - Dress You Up (In Gap)
“Into the Groove” by Madonna with Missy Elliott

The Khaki Series:
Khaki A-Go-Go
Khaki Country
Khaki Swing
Khaki Soul

Major Offenders: Volkswagen

Nick Drake - Pink Moon

ELO - Mr. Blue Sky

Styx - Mr. Roboto
With Tony Hale (aka “Buster”) from “Arrested Development”

Other Commercials:

This Cola’s Made for Drinkin’. Nancy Sinatra as a RC Cola spokeperson circa 1966.

Jello: The 5th Dimension

Alka Seltzer to Sammy Davis, Jr.’s rescue.

Kodak: Before Kodak adopted Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors”, they turned to Harry Belafonte and then Stevie Wonder.

Long before Pepsi, The Jackson 5 loved their Alpha Bits.

The Who on tour, sponsored by Schlitz (1982)

Sunkist Soda: “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys

ABC TV: Still the One (by Orleans, 1977 season) and You’ll Love It (set to “I Love LA” by Randy Newman, 1985 season)

Is it live or is it Memorex? Even Ella gets into the act with Memorex.

Steve Winwood - The Night Belongs to Michelob

McDonalds - Mac Tonight (aka “Mack the Knife”)

Taco Bell with Johnny Cash
With a last name like Cash, wasn’t he just meant to do commercials?

Pizza Hut: Ringo Starr and “the wrong lads” (The Monkees) eat at Pizza Hut.

Moby licenses the hell out of Play, while Tom Waits gets litigious and Preparation H hounds the Cash estate.

Cadillac: Led Zeppelin begins licensing their music for commercials: “Rock ‘n’ Roll” for Cadillac.

Carnival Cruise: Heroin sells Caribbean cruises. Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” licensed by Carnival Cruise.

Swiffer: Swiff It! Swiff It Good! Devo sells Swiffer.

iPod: Apple has set the standard for current commercials. “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?” by Jet.

Oddities:
The Roto-Rooter jingle performed by Bootsy Collins

Neil Young criticizes rock in commercials with “This Note’s For You”.

Blogs/Articles:

• Daily Dose for August 21: Things Go Better with Coke
• Bastardized pop songs, courtesy of WXPN 885 Project Lead Jen Oliver
• Bedazzled: Retro TV Rock Commercials
• The Commercial Music Blog: Home for the best music featured in TV commercials
• Crumbelievable! The Ten Cheesiest Rock Commercials
• Gone Commercial: Artists Selling Out
• Left of the Dial: Original Music in Commercials: the Winners, the Losers, and the Sell-Outs
• Retrocrush: Favorite Retro Pop Songs Ruined in Commercials
• Stereogum: Write an Indie Rock Commerical Jingle
• TV Commercial Blog: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
• What’s That Called?

Resources:

• As Seen on TV: Find Music Used in Commercials
• Wikipedia: List of Pepsi Spokespersons
• Rock Maven: Songs Used in Commercials