Is There an M&M Inside of You?
In the junk email realm, PBTeen, Ann Taylor LOFT, Macy’s, Newport News and Spiegel all implored me to shop their Presidents’ Day sales. There does seem to be considerable leeway on the proper name of today’s holiday, but I’m convinced that it’s Presidents Day, plain and simple, no apostrophe before or after the s. Wikipedia backs me up on this, though they’re not the most definitive source in the world (and they include an apostrophe in the URL). George Washington and Abraham Lincoln do not own Feb. 19, there’s no possession. It’s just a day for presidents.
Phew, I had to get rankled about something today. I’ve been trying to come to terms with old songs, indie songs, whatever being used willy-nilly in ads. A friend mentioned that she’s more upset by old song misappropriation, loathing M&M’s recent use of The The’s “This is the Day.” I’m more offended by the notion that we all have an M&M inside of us. I most definitely do not.
But I finally found an example of repurposing a lightly obscure song from the past in a genius way. Juxtaposing The Buzzcocks’s "Everybody's Happy Nowadays" with fogey-ish AARP was a brilliant move. Instead of focusing on aging they’ve put the spotlight on birthdays and make getting older seem downright fun.
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wait…don’t you find it troubling that all these *sarcastic* songs set to happy melodies are now being used for upbeat ads? It’s genius, in a way, but it’s so deceiving.
I love the buzzcocks, but damn, that song is really about how everybody is NOT happy nowadays! It’s so messed up! It’s *almost* as bad as Devo’s “It’s A Beautiful World” in the Target ads. The whole song is about how it’s NOT a beautiful world!! Duh!!! How could they do that???
Feeling Orwellian by the second…