Know Your Source Material

From my Facebook page:

Dear Acura,

Re: your advertising dept.

I try not to tell people how to do their jobs, mostly for 2 reasons: 1. I don't want the general public telling me how to do my job, and 2. Other people have expertise in areas that I don't. But every time I see your new commercial, I cringe a bit more.

I get it; nostalgia sells, and who doesn't love the Stones? Plus, you were thinking that, "Please me allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste" would appeal to people who have wealth (or want it) and like to think that they have good taste.

But the thing is, Acura, virtually everyone who has heard the song is aware of the rest of the lyrics. Do you REALLY think that a song with the lyrics, "I rode a tank, held a general's rank, when the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank" is a great sales tool? Because that's what we hear in our heads when your commercial runs. I mean, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt, assuming that you just didn't think about it, or you're thinking that no one knows what "blitzkrieg" means anymore; because, if you actually wanted to pitch to Nazis or sympathizers, that's a horror instead of carelessness.

I'm not one of those crazies who howls, "Rock music is devil worship! Just look at this song's title!" while clutching my scriptures. I love rock music; I've attended rock concerts. Obviously, I'm a Rolling Stones fan. But I also recognize subtlety and irony and other tools utilized by writers and artists. You know - when they write a catchy song with an unsympathetic narrator, calling it, "Sympathy for the Devil." They expect you to "get" it.

Neil Young - he has a notable solo career, and played with a famous, successful band; you might wanna look him up if you don't recognize the name - once gave an interview in which he was asked why he didn't sell the rights to his music to advertisers, when his colleagues and bandmates did. His answer was succinct and fantastic: "When I'm writing lyrics like, 'Four dead in Ohio,' I'm not thinking about laundry detergent."

I'm not saying that you can't choose rock, pop, country, ska or whatever else you want to for your campaigns. I'm saying, be aware when you're doing the equivalent of selling detergent on the backs of the bodies of unarmed college students, shot to death on a college campus.

Sincerely,
American consumers (who recognize that your campaign will NOT be the new Chevy "Like a Rock" ads)