Every time I see the below commercial I am so frustrated by the end I could care less about the product they are selling. While big name musical artists (and their estates) have been selling their songs to TV commercials for years I am still trying to figure out what Nina Simone’s version of ‘Sinnerman’ has to do with using a cell phone. Nothing. Shame on her estate for selling a classic song to push cellphones, don’t you think that product has caused enough problems the way it is? One wonders if they paid anything for it though, since ‘Sinnerman’ is a traditional Reggae folk song that has been redone by many musical groups over the years, even though her version is the best.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-QhxjJFl7E[/youtube]
See the original
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn5tiuZU4JI&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Angry Guy
I like what Tom Waits has done when his songs get used in commercials without his permission.
He sues, and wins.
I should add that Levi Strauss tried to use “Step Right Up” to sell jeans (irony!) using a sound-alike singer, Waits sued, and won.