Morrissey allows John Lewis to use Smiths track for Christmas ad campaign

still................


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Re: youtube puts commercials to smiths song

It's sad. It doesn't matter how good or touching the advert is. From now on we will never be able to listen to this song without thinking about John Lewis. The commercial space has stolen another little bit of our private space.
 
Re: youtube puts commercials to smiths song

It's sad. It doesn't matter how good or touching the advert is. From now on we will never be able to listen to this song without thinking about John Lewis. The commercial space has stolen another little bit of our private space.

I think this would be true if they'd used the original song but Modern Millie's version is completely different. It's not like Blur who ruined The Universal by letting British Gas use the original in their ads for years and years.

The thing that I find most odd about this 'campaign' is that John Lewis seem to think their stores are full of 40 and 50-something Smiths fans. It's true that the typical Smiths fan is probably now in this bracket (more 40s than 50s) but the Smiths were a tiny indie band. Their songs were not liked or even known by the wider public. The average 40 and 50 something, shopping in John Lewis, would be much more likely to have spent the 1980s listening to Phil Collins and Level 42 than Hatful of Hollow.
 
Re: youtube puts commercials to smiths song

It's sad. It doesn't matter how good or touching the advert is. From now on we will never be able to listen to this song without thinking about John Lewis. The commercial space has stolen another little bit of our private space.

Hardly. I don't think of cars when I hear "How Soon Is Now?" I don't think of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" when I hear "Please Please Please".

The Smiths sold out to big corporate greed when they signed with EMI in 1987. We've had plenty of time to get over it. I'm happy with the level of commercialization of The Smiths, though I admit I wouldn't want much more than a John Lewis-ish advert every ten years or so. :rolleyes:

Just look around at what's happened to other "classic" bands. They've been exploited much worse than The Smiths. Just the other day I was in a Best Buy (big corporate chain in the U.S., one of the last retailers of CDs) and I saw a small, flimsy plastic box into which was stuffed a shockingly lame Jane's Addiction t-shirt. Believe me, The Smiths' fate could be so much worse. Over the years I've been impressed with Morrissey and Marr's stewardship of their legacy. Yes, there have been some tarnishing releases in the form of cash-grabbing redundancies ("Very Best Of"), but mostly they've done some fabulous things to protect their brand ( :) ). Top of the list? Refusing to reform.
 
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Re: youtube puts commercials to smiths song

I've only heard this on the Gordon Ramsey ad which made me think I'd be surprised if Moz or Marr authorised that with their stance on animal welfare. They must have done.
 
Christmas is murder....ask any turkey.

Or piggy, for that matter.
Also, the Chinese kids making all the cheap crap we'll all be putting ourselves in debt for, to buy one another's affection, because apparently money comes easier than genuine emotion for most folks (myself included, and I am f***ing broke).
 
Re: youtube puts commercials to smiths song

I've only heard this on the Gordon Ramsey ad which made me think I'd be surprised if Moz or Marr authorised that with their stance on animal welfare. They must have done.

Do you need an authorisation for a parody?
I don't think so.

At least the trailer doesn't feature meat / fish / other animal product.

I bet both Morrissey and Johnny don't like a GD programme trailer using a Smiths song, but they don't bother to stop them either.
 
Re: youtube puts commercials to smiths song

The thing that I find most odd about this 'campaign' is that John Lewis seem to think their stores are full of 40 and 50-something Smiths fans. It's true that the typical Smiths fan is probably now in this bracket (more 40s than 50s) but the Smiths were a tiny indie band. Their songs were not liked or even known by the wider public. The average 40 and 50 something, shopping in John Lewis, would be much more likely to have spent the 1980s listening to Phil Collins and Level 42 than Hatful of Hollow.

Good point.
So they'll say their first record bought was 'The Queen Is Dead', but actually it was 'Go West' by Go West. The tyranny of cool; allied with the commodification of good taste. As Joey Barton might now say.
What happens when there are no more pricks to kick against? The one good thing about the 80s was you knew who the pricks were, and they just kept on coming :thumb:
 
Re: youtube puts commercials to smiths song

Hardly. I don't think of cars when I hear "How Soon Is Now?" I don't think of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" when I hear "Please Please Please".

The Smiths sold out to big corporate greed when they signed with EMI in 1987. We've had plenty of time to get over it. I'm happy with the level of commercialization of The Smiths, though I admit I wouldn't want much more than a John Lewis-ish advert every ten years or so. :rolleyes:

Just look around at what's happened to other "classic" bands. They've been exploited much worse than The Smiths. Just the other day I was in a Best Buy (big corporate chain in the U.S., one of the last retailers of CDs) and I saw a small, flimsy plastic box into which was stuffed a shockingly lame Jane's Addiction t-shirt. Believe me, The Smiths' fate could be so much worse. Over the years I've been impressed with Morrissey and Marr's stewardship of their legacy. Yes, there have been some tarnishing releases in the form of cash-grabbing redundancies ("Very Best Of"), but mostly they've done some fabulous things to protect their brand ( :) ). Top of the list? Refusing to reform.

Yes, ok The Smiths are not the worst, I agree with that. And I don't even blame them for having allowed this, I can understand why it's hard to resist. But really wish they would have resisted. I hate the advert because it reminds me how nothing is sacred. I do think there is a big difference between using a song in a film and using it in a TV advert to endorse a large retailer. I'm glad they didn't use the original song, that would have been a lot worse.

I have a special hatred for TV commercials. There is an advert for washing powder (I think) that uses a song by White Denim. I love that song and that whole album (Exposion) but this advert has completely ruined it for me. It's been tainted.

The adverts I hate the most are the ones I actually like, because that means I have been sucessfully targeted. Ugh!
 
Re: youtube puts commercials to smiths song

I hate the advert because it reminds me how nothing is sacred.

I love the advert because it reminds me how nothing is sacred.

Nothing is sacred: words to cheer the hearts of anyone who wishes the world were different than it is.
 
Re: youtube puts commercials to smiths song

I love the advert because it reminds me how nothing is sacred.

Nothing is sacred: words to cheer the hearts of anyone who wishes the world were different than it is.
A very queer reason for liking something. You must find Inhumanity a hoot.
I agree with Inathan, TV/radio advertisements are an awful thing.
 
Re: youtube puts commercials to smiths song

A very queer reason for liking something. You must find Inhumanity a hoot.
I agree with Inathan, TV/radio advertisements are an awful thing.

Inhumanity? Is that a speed metal band?
 
Re: youtube puts commercials to smiths song

I love the advert because it reminds me how nothing is sacred.

Nothing is sacred: words to cheer the hearts of anyone who wishes the world were different than it is.

It's not working. What am I doing wrong?
 
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