No, you’re not hearing things–you just might have heard that song before. Song usage for advertisement can make artists as well as break them. But how often do we care?
There is an ongoing internet boycott of the song ‘Hey Soul Sister’ by Train due to overplay. ‘Hey Soul Sister’ has been used to sell Netflix, Samsung TVs, even stoves. It’s also the song in the trailer for the upcoming Katherine Heigl film, ‘Life As We Know It’.
Train is not the only band that got flack for its frequent airplay. Techno-electronica musican, Moby, has made his career from allowing ads to use the music from his ‘Play’ album. His music has been used as tracks for ads from cars to cellphones. Moby has defended himself against criticism, pointing out that licensing was the only way he could get music heard.
Last year “Que Sera Sera” was used in two very different ads–one by DDB New Zealand for MySky HDi, the other by Ogilvy & Mather Thailand for Thai Life Insurance—to very different results. If someone tries to use the song again, the ad better be very good.
How to end the song cycle? As Y&R ECD Marvin Waldman wrote a while back on Adweek, "Leave the songs alone! Try getting a genuine idea for a change."
