Remember when David Bowie and Tina Turner got together to sell Pepsi, or when Genesis and Eric Clapton helped turn an ordinary evening into “Michelob Night”?
Neil Young was angry when he sat down to write the lyrics for This Note's for You in 1988. Throughout the decade, he had seen everyone, fromEric Clapton has Michael Jackson passing through David Bowie And Tina Turnerappear in advertisements. In many cases, they even rewrote the lyrics of their most famous songs to sell soft drinks or beer. He had had enough. “I don’t sing for Pepsi”Young wrote. “I don't sing for Coke / I don't sing for nobody / It makes me sound like a joke.” »
The song became his biggest hit in years and ultimately won him the Video of the Year award at the MTV Video Music Awards. But she enraged some of her peers. “I don’t think Neil Young should set himself up as the conscience of rock”had declared Glenn Freywho appeared alongside Don Johnson in a 1985 Pepsi commercial. “I don't know what's worse: making 17 albums that sound like demos, releasing them as finished products and taking people's money for it, or me taking $1 million from Pepsi. So Neil? Who is scamming who? You haven't made a decent record since Harvest. »
Clearly, Young had hit a nerve. And to be fair to Frey, his music with the Eagles will live on forever, while his Pepsi commercial is little more than an extremely vague memory for most people. This is the case for most pop star advertisements from the 1980s. But thanks to the magic of YouTube, we've gone back to resurrect some classics. Be careful, some are really, really weird.
Genesis
Product : Michelob
The context: We're at a trendy New York bar near the Variety Photoplays Theater on 3rd Avenue. The place is full of yuppies American Psycho. A woman tries to decide which song to Genesis play on the jukebox, even if Tonight, Tonight, Tonight is already ringing. We are treated to periodic flashes of Genesis performing this same song. Someone open a Michelob. A woman walks towards the camera and smiles seductively. We don't see any cocaine, but it's clearly everywhere. Friends, it doesn't get any more 80s than that.
Discomfort factor: Minimal. This is the studio version of Tonight, Tonight, Tonight without modified lyrics. Phil Collins does not interact with any of the characters and does not drink Michelob himself. And it was all part of a tour sponsorship package. We validate.
David Bowie & Tina Turner
Product : Pepsi
The context: David Bowie is a ponytailed nerdy scientist trying to build the woman of his dreams. He takes a few sips of Pepsi, inserts images of models into a machine, short-circuits it by spilling the soft drink, and Tina Turner comes out of a room. His explosive entrance transforms Bowie into a suave seducer, and they duet a modified version of Bowie's 1983 hit, Modern Lovewhere the words become “now I know the choice is mine” (now I know the choice is mine) instead of “get me to the church on time”.
Discomfort factor: AVERAGE. Shamelessly copying the plot ofA dream creature (Weird Science) isn't cool, and it's weird to hear Bowie singing a Pepsi slogan, but these are two of the coolest people who ever lived. We will forgive them almost everything.
Glenn Frey
Product : Holiday Spa
The context: No big story here. He's just a founding member of Eagles engaged in an intense, grunt-filled workout extolling the virtues of the Holiday Spa Health Club. “When I come to the gym, I come here for one reason: to work”he said. “That’s why we call it a workout. When your business is staying fit, this is your office. So when you're in the office, take care of business. »
Discomfort factor: Pupil. Frey was in excellent shape during filming, but it was edited like a training sequence from Karate Kid. They apparently didn't have the budget to use one of his songs. It's a shame because The Heat Is On would have been perfect.
Michael Jackson
Product : Pepsi
The context: It's the height of madness Michael Jackson in 1984. A group of young boys — including the future star of Fresh Prince of Bel-AirAlfonso Ribeiro — is performing his best MJ moves on the street when they happen upon Jackson and his brothers. The amazed children find themselves in a choreography with their heroes as Jackson sings a modified version of Billie Jean. “You're a whole new generation, you're dancin' through the day”he sings.
Discomfort factor: It's high when you consider that this was the set where Jackson suffered severe scalp burns from a major pyrotechnic accident. But once you put that aside — there's no evidence of the incident on screen — it's pretty cool, especially because we see Ribeiro busting out some moves well before doing “La Carlton” or presenting Dancing With the Stars.
Cinderella
Product : Pat's Chili Dogs
The context: Years before Cinderella ne breakthrough, the blues-rock/hair-metal band was so desperate to get on the air that they agreed to film a commercial for a local 24-hour hot dog stand in exchange for free food and the promise that the owner would buy air time on MTV. They also wrote a strangely catchy little tune: “Pat’s Dogs!” / The cook is never tired! Pat’s Dogs! / The steam is always fired. » Without YouTube, this would have been long forgotten.
Discomfort factor: Weak. Who doesn't love a chili dog?
Nils Lofgren
Product : Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo
The context: Tyrants beware, Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo students have mastered the art of self-defense, and they will kick your ass if you bother them. To convey this message, the guitarist of the E Street Band, Nils Lofgren — who took lessons there in the 1970s — recorded a jingle that is forever etched into the brain of anyone who grew up in Washington, DC in the 1980s.
Discomfort factor: Weak. There’s a certain charm to low-budget regional ads. And the song is so great that Springsteen should consider adding it to the setlist on his next tour with the E Street Band.
Madonna
Product : Pepsi
The context: Madonna watches films from his childhood and somehow projects himself into the past, and his childhood self into the present. The original broadcast was the first time anyone heard Like a Prayerand it was designed to launch a major promotional campaign. But once the real clip of Like a Prayer hit MTV and people saw images of burning crosses, Pepsi was pressured to remove the ad.
Discomfort factor: AVERAGE. The time travel stunt doesn't really work, and the actual clip of Like a Prayer is infinitely more captivating.
Eric Clapton
Product : Michelob
The context: It's a quiet night at New York's Lone Star Cafe, and they're getting ready to close when a mysterious stranger walks in, guitar in hand. It turns out that it is Eric Claptonwho went there directly after playing a big concert elsewhere in town. It then offers the handful of customers a new interpretation of After Midnight by JJ Cale, plays some tasty blues licks, catches the eye of a charming young woman and transforms the whole thing into a magical “Michelob Night”.
Discomfort factor: It was pretty weak until Neil Young created a devastating shot-for-shot parody at the start of his music video This Note's for You. After that, the whole thing seemed a lot less cool.
Robert Palmer
Product : Pepsi
The context: And if it wasn't a woman Robert Palmer found “Simply Irresistible”, but rather a can of Pepsi? That's the simple premise of this 1989 commercial, which features a reworked version of Palmer's 1988 hit Simply Irresistibleand its emblematic models of Addicted to Love opening cans of Pepsi.
Discomfort factor: Weak. Robert Palmer isn't exactly Zack de la Rocha, so no one was surprised to see him selling Pepsi. And his song was almost designed to be turned into a jingle.
Whitney Houston
Product : Diet Coke
The context: We're in a bizarre amalgamation of record store, TV studio and dance party, when a DJ inadvertently places a record needle on a can of Diet Coke and wakes Whitney Houston of an ancient sleep. She emerges from the walls, sings a song about “Diet Coke” that many people still remember to this day, and then presumably goes back to sleep.
Discomfort factor: Very minimal. The ad captures Houston at the peak of her vocal abilities, and this is a woman who could take a song about Diet Coke to the heavens.
