You’ve probably heard some internet buzz about the 2012 Olympic Games committee using The Clash’s 1979 punk anthem “London Calling” in their promotion for the next year’s summer games. What’s the big deal? It’s got London in the title, it’s a song… where's the problem? Well, it’s not an earth-shattering travesty, but it is the latest in a long history of advertisers not taking a few minutes to actually sit down and listen to the music they’ve licensed.
Take a quick listen to the song, if you need a refresher:
NPR’s Weekend Edition ran a really cool story about it this weekend, speaking with BBC music critic Alan Connor about the song’s post-apocalyptic imagery and non-tourist-friendly vision of a crumbling, flooded, zombie-infested English capital. (Listen Here) “It's not much of a way of saying, 'Hey, come and watch our beach volleyball — you'll have a great time,’” Connor points out.
This is hardly the first time a company or organization has licensed a rock song without stopping to listen to its lyrics or original creative intent. How many times have you heard someone try to sell you something with Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life”? How many times have you secretly thought, “This song’s about getting head, isn’t it?” Or how about all those Royal Caribbean cruise commercials using Iggy Pop’s heroin anthem “Lust For Life”? The embarrassing list goes on and on and on.
What do you think about the 2012 Olympics using “London Calling” as their unofficial theme song? Will advertisers ever figure out that 98% of popular music just simply isn’t designed to sell products? Hit us up with your thoughts.
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