Apple picks 50 top songs from commercials

We’ve talked about music in advertising, and we’ve talked about our iPods. But not until today have we combined the two. Apparently, Apple has put together an iTunes playlist for people who can’t get enough of songs used in commercials. The list, “Commercial Success—50 Songs That Sell” (scroll to the bottom of the page) has a lot of tracks you’d expect, such as the Cars’ “Just What I Needed” (Circuit City) and Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” (Royal Caribbean). But it is a bit self-serving—three of the 50 songs are from ads for Apple’s iPod nano or Motorola’s iTunes-enabled Rokr phone. And in my opinion, not all of the songs count—songs used to promote TV shows, for example, like the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” used in The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. And it’s missing a few choice songs: Trio’s “Da Da Da” and Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon” (both used for Volkswagen) come to mind. But there are some revelations. (Who knew that it was Faith No More covering the Commodores’ “Easy” in that Levi’s commercial?) And for $50, it’s a perfect buy for ’Freaks who can’t get enough of ads. Below is the complete list.

—Posted by Aaron Baar

1. The Resource featuring Jimmy Napes, “Gimme That” (iPod nano)
2. Bent Fabric, “Jukebox ” (Cingular/AT&T Wireless)
3. The Faders, “No Sleep Tonight” (Motorola ROKR)
4. DJ Kane, “Brinca” (Motorola Rokr)
5. Johnny Cash, “I’ve Been Everywhere” (Choice Hotels)
6. The 5.6.7.8’s, “Woo Hoo” (Vonage)
7. Faith No More, “Easy” (Levi’s)
8. The Ramones, “Blitzkreig Bop” (Diet Pepsi)
9. Tennessee Ernie Ford, “Sixteen Tons” (GE)
10. The Wynona Riders, “Kids In America” (Kmart)
11. Bill Withers, “Use Me” (GMC)
12. Blue Öyster Cult, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” (Bones)
13. Kansas, “Dust in the Wind” (Subaru)
14. Better Than Ezra, “Juicy” (Desperate Housewives)
15. The O’Jays, “Love Train” (Coors Light)
16. Nonpoint, “In the Air Tonight” (E*Ring)
17. Louis Armstrong, “A Kiss to Build a Dream On” (Visa)
18. Five for Fighting, “100 Years” (JP Morgan Chase)
19. Train, “Get to Me” (Cingular/AT&T Wireless)
20. Hilary Duff, “Wake Up” (Kohl’s)
21. The Cars, “Just What I Needed” (Circuit City)
22. Cher, “Song for the Lonely” (Weight Watchers)
23. Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World” (Hallmark)
24. M.I.A. , “Galang” (Honda)
25. Bruce Hornsby, “Gonna Be Some Changes Made” (Lowe’s)
26. Spice Girls, “Wannabe” (Citibank)
27. Electric Light Orchestra, “Do Ya” (Monster)
28. Love Unlimited Orchestra, “Love’s Theme” (“Got milk?”)
29. Scorpions, “Rock You Like a Hurricane” (TGI Fridays)
30. Eurythmics, “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (The Apprentice: Martha Stewart)
31. M.C. Hammer, “U Can’t Touch This” (Purell)
32. Robert Palmer, “Simply Irresistible” (Applebee’s)
33. KC & The Sunshine Band, “Keep It Comin’ Love” (Blockbuster)
34. The Edgar Winter Group, “Free Ride” (Citgo)
35. Squeeze, “Tempted” (Dentyne)
36. Hot Chocolate, “You Sexy Thing” (Dr Pepper)
37. Billy Preston, “Nothing from Nothing” (Fidelity)
38. The Lovin’ Spoonful, “Do You Believe in Magic?” (Kohl’s)
39. Vangelis, “Chariots Of Fire” (Nike)
40. Kasabian, “Club Foot” (Pontiac)
41. The Carpenters, “Top of the World” (Aquafina)
42. Iggy Pop, “Lust for Life” (Royal Caribbean)
43. Iron & Wine, “Such Great Heights” (M&M’s)
44. John Sebastian, “Welcome Back—Theme from Welcome Back, Kotter” (Mylanta)
45. Alec Empire, “The Ride” (Acura)
46. The Allman Brothers Band, “Melissa” (Cingular/AT&T Wireless)
47. Goat, “Great Life” (Kia)
48. The Mooney Suzuki, “Alive & Amplified” (Suzuki)
49. The Bellrays, “Revolution Get Down” (Nissan)
50. Orquesta Del Plata, “Montserrat” (Kahlua)

October 11, 2005 | Permalink