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Though we think that the new Hewlett Packard digital photography campaign is a bit ridiculous and obtuse (the images are pretty, but there are too aspirational and not as relatable as they could be), the commercials don't bother us as they could have. And that's because of the music that plays against what is very high production value images of all kinds of people. The song that plays as people take pictures is the Cure's Pictures of You, and its lyrics haunt the our mind:
I've been looking so long at these pictures of you
That I almost believe that they're real
I've been living so long with my pictures of you
That I almost believe that the pictures are
All I can feel
We just hope that Robert Smith and the gang are making some coin off that; the entire new HP campaign is costing $300 millions.
Watch the ads at HP.com.
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Uhh, well I think the “You +HP” Campaign totally kicks ass! Your right, the ads are not annoying or all "in your face" like so many of today's ads. It has a certain subtlety to it that is very effective, even though you don’t explicitly recall the images, the tune playing back in your head brings you back to the spot. It’s just enough to be a reminder that HP brings innovation and can help you with your holiday digital photo needs. Overall very effective advertising. And since your mentioning it here on the gothamist I would say it was worth the $300 million price tag. I'm certainly impressed.
One of the guys from R.E.M. said they won't license their music to do commericals because the commericial changes the meaning of the song. The HP/Cure commercials seem to exemplify this; as the intent of the commercials runs counter to the original meaning of the song. That being said, the commercial did cause me to break out "Disintergration," whereas I was dismayed to find a scratch on my copy.
The HP stuff's alright except for this one 2 page print ad I saw in the New Yorker was just wrong. It was a wedding scene and the biggest photo was the bride's face with white stuff all over her face. If came up with that at work, I'd have been fired. I'm guessing the creatives were women... there's no way a guy could have suggested it and got away with it.
David, REM has a good point. There was a BBC TV campaign not too long ago that used Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" in the most wrong context ever. The commercials were supposed to be about how wonderful BBC was... except the song isn't about that but eh... we in the advertising business never said we were smart.
i am really dismayed by the use of Pictures of You. i think the REM guy hit it on the head - my memories of Pictures of You are totally infringed upon by my sorrow that it has been commercialized in this way -- but then i think about tiny dancer and almost famous and i wonder if songs' meanings can be changed in a meaningful way?! granted i wasn't so attached to tiny dancer before i saw the movie, so i guess it may just have to do with where your head is/what you bring to the table.
i mean JC Penny using Right Here Right Now upsets me because of what comes to mind in my own head when i hear that song (i won't bore you with my MTV/babysitting moment of that summer) - not to mention the JC Penny commerical is a horrible jingle-istic cover that belies the true feeling of the song.
it all reminds me of Nike and Revolution and wasn't Michael Jackson involved in that scandal, too?
I agree that the song doesn't really have much to do with the seeming content of the HP ad but I much prefer being reminded of my own memories associated with it rather than staring blankly at some ad with an annoying jangle and wondering what they are trying to sell . . . and if the music was written by the ad guy's brother.
Oh thank God you Gothamists! I was just thinking about this last night upon viewing the commercial. They so don't get it. It's almost as bad as the use of DEVO's "Whip It" in the (ack!) Swiffer commercial.
Mike Mills interview with NY Post:
Post: You've become a commercial, mainstream band that snagged an $80 million deal with Warner Bros. back in the '90s. What do you think about artists who sell the rights to their songs for commercials?
Mills: It's something every artist has to wrestle with. For me, it's a no-brainer. Listen, how many people now think of United Airlines when they hear "Rhapsody in Blue"? A lot - and that's appalling. That's one of the greatest pieces of American music ever written, and a company is using it to sell airplane tickets. It's tragic.
Post: R.E.M. has turned down all offers to sell music so far. Could that ever change?
Mills: No. It might be OK for a really young band that's struggling and has no money, and selling a song is a way for them to feed themselves for the next six months. I understand that. But even that taints the song forever. When you use a song in a commercial, the true meaning of that song is compromised.
I love it when musicians take a stand for the sake of their art. REM won't license its music to commercials...but "Stand" was the intro music to Chris Elliot's sit-com, "Get A Life."
well, while we're discussing all this, Creativity Magazine named Goodby Silverstein Agency of the Year for their work on the HP campaign.
From the musician's viewpoint, it could be considered selling out, and a total compromise of the original intent of the song... but from the consumer standpoint, I think the advertisers chose the song very wisely. It appeals to the hearts of the exact generation they are marketing to. After watching that commercial, "Pictures of You" remains running through my mind for a long time, and so does the commercial.
At least the good news is that younger folks are getting into decision making positions that allow them to relive their youthful days -- hence we get recycled 80s stuff as the older classic rock folks are put out to pasture.
I love that the commercial is set in Barcelona though, and the fact that you can pick up on that just from a few shots. Great city, excellent choice.
Bands also have publishing contracts, besides record contracts. The publishing contracts is where bands/artists make the majority of their money. The Cure is getting PAID for HP's use of their song. If you hear an old 80's song or any song from some band that you know in any television commercial, the band/artist is getting paid for that company's use of the song in their commercial.
Coldplay also refuse to license their music for ads. I'm quite ambivalent about the whole thing. I remember New Order doing a soft drinks ad where they re-recorded a lyric to go with the ad, and Barney Sumner had a board with "$200,000" written out and displayed in front of the mic to er, keep him focussed. I admire Coldplay for taking their stand, yet New Order remain one of my favourite groups ever, with the ad experience not diminishing my estimation of them by one iota. And guess what, I can't remember the name of the soft drink they were advertising, so who's the mug?
I think that the HP add kicks ass too. It's not a scandal that the cure did this, and its also not a scandal that modest mouse licensed "Gravity Rides Everything" for that Nissan commercial. But the "Revolution" thing for Nike, that was lame, but then again, Michael Jackson was involved.
I like the add and if I'm a rock star in need of some big bucks, I'm gonna sell. Simple as that. I loved the add, it made me break out Disintegration and give it another whirl. It's all good.
Did I mention I loved the shots from Barcelona that open the commercial???? I've you've never been, you need to go. With the Cure as a backdrop, it doesn't get any better. CU
just letting you all know that the use of "pictures of you" was out of Robert Smith's and the cure's hands. Now i dont know all the specifics but the cure's back catalogue was owned by Fiction records. Fiction records was owned by Chris Parry who was a friend of Robert Smiths. Chris Parry stabbed robert smith in the back by selling the back catalogue to i believe universal. So it's not always the artists fault when you see their nusic on commercials. Just look at the beatles. Micheal Jackson bought the back catolgue and the next thing you knew beatles songs were selling pepsi.
Ugh, get over yourselves! Who cares? Just because I hear this song in the commercial doesn't mean I think "oh hewlett packard photo paper". I just think "nice commercial, great song" I wouldn't forever marry the two. The visual aesthetics of the commercial are beautifully paired with the song. It feels nice. I agree with the fact that some beautiful songs are ruined with tacky commercials, but this one is done tastefully. Give it a break.
HOLY F'IN SHIT! Awesome commercial. Chills everytime. Its like the kinda of thing that when it comes on TV and you hear the first few notes, everyone in the room immidatley gets real quite and all focus is on the AMAZING cinemotography on the screen. Breathetakeing song to match GENIUS screen candy. The scene of the scooter whizzing down the alley is a MASTERPIECE on its own. The whole idea of the photos being "taken" as the camera is bobbing and weaving around is PHENOMENAL. The whole commercial almost has an EERIE WEIRD feel to it that CAPTIVATES THE MIND. If anything the commercial has ADDED to the songs REP. Without the song the Commercial would stand up JUST FINE!
I saw it it was cool hahaha
For Sam's comment:
The "white stuff" on the bride's face is wedding cake frosting...probably not what you thought it was.