Sep 302013
Between the stunning use of Badfinger’s “Baby Blue” in the conclusion to Breaking Bad, the end of a painful baseball season for my team, the most lopsided loss by my football team since 1972, and my first viewing of the above Gap ad, yesterday was certainly a Blue Sunday. At least I’m not a fan of the New York Giants.
I’m long past the days of getting outraged by the use of popular music in ads and I’m rooting as hard as anyone for Dhani Harrison to finally reach his potential as a reborn Let It Be-era George, but can this Gap ad be his last tantalizing stalling move? The “kid” is 35. Isn’t it time he takes a big step forward?
Loading ...
I’m generally against using pre-existing songs in commercials. (Hiring musicians to write music for commercials would be preferable.) But as a way for struggling musicians to get by, licensing songs is hard to object to. But the heir to George Harrison’s estate can’t possibly need the money, and this commercial certainly does nothing to advance his own musical career. Thumbs down.
I’m with BigSteve. I do’t have some solid, “objective” reason to not like this but I’d just ask the question WHY?
Julian had his brief day in the sun but these Beatlekids sure haven’t had much success in the music world, have they?
Is Zac Starkey the most musically successful second generation Fab?
Why would anyone want Dhani Harrison to sell anything? Does anyone know who he is? Does he tour the House of Blues circuit as a tribute act to his father or something? I’ll be most people see that commercial and just think it’s some guy singing a song that sounds kind of like The Beatles. I bet Brett Favre sells way more pants.
Good point, al: Zac Starkey. Slow and steady wins the race.
True. Unless you are a Beatles get-a-lifer or have watched The Concert for George an inordinate number of times (and in all likelihood these two categories have rather significant overlap) then who knows who he is? You’d probably think he is just a reasonably skilled George imitator.