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Re: commercials
>I just think it comes down to artistic betrayal. I am still a fan,
>although somewhat disillusioned. HOPE dies last, and I know that I will
>lose my faith if Bob Dylan ever creeps out of my television set as the
>subliminal enticement to buying a product. Plastic society rules.
I think Bob Dylan had to give a little on his ideals. A few years back he
gave what was maybe the first interview of his career--he'd been famous for
refusing, and then suddenly he's available. The interviewer asked why, and
Bob said it came down to being forgotten, that if he was going to continue
as a musician, he would have to get out there and sell some music. We
haven't heard his songs in a commercial yet, but there is a little bit of
discrete promotion going on--agianst his purist ideals or not.
I don't know that The Who music in commercial ads serves to capture a new
audience. What it would seem to do is remind people that The Who music is
there on the shelves and available for purchase. Maybe now and then a sharp
ad like the Maxima commercial might prompt someone to ask what music that
is, but generally not. In most of the ads, if you don't recognize the
music, then it doesn't mean anything one way or the other--it's just more
background.
For some people the music does still carry that anthemic, socially conscious
meaning, but I'd say they're in a minority these days. Most people take it
as a matter of course that musicians sell their music. Folks in between
might have some threshold where they'll be preturbed when they hear too much
of it. Letting out a few ads IS a way to do a market survey to see how
they're received--like what proportion of the fans are annoyed by how much
of the advertizing. There will be a level of saturation, though, beyond
where the msuic gets old and starts to cloy.
All in all, I'd say there are better ways to promote The Who than with ads.
They have an excellent reputation for integrity so far, and I'd want to see
it stay that way.
keets
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