(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Top Comments: Commercials into songs edition [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-23 Actor Davis Leisure ..... is age 72 these days A look at some advertising-to-hit-singles, after-the-jump …... But first: Top Comments appears nightly, as a round-up of the best comments on Daily Kos. Surely ... you come across comments daily that are perceptive, apropos and .. well, perhaps even humorous. But they are more meaningful if they're well-known ... which is where you come in (especially in diaries/stories receiving little attention). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Send your nominations to TopComments at gmail dot com by 9:30 PM Eastern Time nightly, or by our KosMail message board. Please indicate (a) why you liked the comment, and (b) your Dkos user name (to properly credit you) as well as a link to the comment itself. One of the features on Twitter (that ‘Melon’ hasn’t quashed yet) is the feature The 60’s at 60 — listing the US Top Twenty for a given week in the 1960’s (although it must have later expanded, as it includes the 1970’s). And one week in 1965 it listed a song I had never heard of … yet upon playing it, I recognized the melody, yet knew it wasn't the original. What I found was an amusing story that deals with the cross-pollination of advertising and popular music … which will come later. In the process of pulling-together this story: I also came across some old advertisements that I loved … so tonight’s effort will be somewhat of a grab bag. In my 1974 freshman Macroeconomics class at my community college … the department chairman Dick O’Rourke told us the first principle of economics is scarcity … and this was the philosophy of the retired advertising executive Jerry Della Femina, who started his own agency in 1967 along with Ron Travisano, whom he had worked with at the well-established Ted Bates advertising firm. But initially, they struggled … so much so, they were almost out of cash, and unable to pay the next month’s rent. The solution? Throw a no-expense-spared party at a then-swanky NYC restaurant called L’Etoile … and when attendees asked how they were doing … Jerry and Ron pointed to the spread and said, “Great!” (although Ron told Jerry to hold back, as they might need some of the food … for lunch the next day). They got three accounts from “The Big Bluff” — that saved the day — and went on to produce ads for Blue Nun wine (featuring Stiller & Meara) , Meow Mix … and perhaps their campaign for Joe Isuzu … came from that first big bluff? Isuzu ad campaign: 1986—2001 One of the random ads that I came across in this search (and recall well) was this 1988 Bud Light commercial — before the fall of the Soviet Union — and today the big fear isn’t being sent to Siberia …. but open windows. In my Cheers & Jeers posting last week, I noted the passing of the vacuum cleaner innovator David Oreck at age ninety-nine — which caught-the-eye of the founder of Cheers & Jeers, Bill in Portland Maine whose advertising background led him to study his marketing methods, he wrote. Intrigued, I looked-up his story … and found that he pioneered a lightweight vacuum cleaner — only 8 lbs. — and found that he had to overcome the perception that heavier machines worked better. So he focused on selling to hotels, and the housekeepers appreciated the lighter weight and that it could lie flat to get under beds. That later translated into home sales, as well. He was the face of the company in direct mail/other advertising and when he sold the business in 2003 at age eighty, the new owners were a private equity firm who loaded-up with debt, withdrew cash and ran it into bankruptcy within ten years. Oreck felt they moved away from the firm’s target markets and began advertising to everyone (which is to say: no one). He said he’d offered to do ads for them, even afterward … but they were more interested having an eye candy gal do it. David Oreck (1923-2023) Finally, onto songs with a connection to TV ads. If you are familiar with the band The Kingsmen … it’s their cover of the Richard Berry tune Louie Louie (in a cheap studio with unclear lyrics) that made them famous. I wrote a 2012 essay about Richard Berry and his song at this link. In one of the 60’s at 60 listings … it showed this song about a vegetable firm. Commercials galore This song reached #4 on the US charts in 1965 and spawned other cover versions. Finally, the song I referred to at the outset. One of the 60s at 60 listings had a song title I didn’t recognize (nor did I recognize the band name). And when I found the video, it sounded familiar … yet not exactly how I remembered it ... and there is an interesting back-story (always a delight). No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In) actually began as a 1965 commercial for … Alka-Seltzer. And when I found that video .. I recognized that was the sound I recalled. I forgot all about the product (hey, I was a kid) … yet recall the sound: Enter a bandleader named Dave Pell — who liked the tune and thought he could record it as a stand-alone single. He hired members of the famed Wrecking Crew — studio musicians in Los Angeles who performed on numerous famous recordings — and used the name The T-Bones. This had been used for some instrumental song recordings in the past (where there was no name singer to use as a focal point). The (more sophisticated) single that “The T-Bones” recorded reached #3 on the pop charts in 1966 … which led to calls for them to tour. Alas, members of the Wrecking Crew were making top $ just coming to the studio during business hours and not having to endure travelling …. so they declined. Thus, an existing studio band was hired, to be the T-Bones (including band members Judd and Dan Hamilton, Joe Frank Carollo and Tommy Reynolds) who appeared on TV and tours, who disbanded later that year. Before we conclude with that cover version … it should be noted that several of those travelling band members later reached #4 five years later in 1971 … under the name Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds … and at this link, those of you (of a certain age) may recall Don’t Pull Your Love Out (on Me, Baby). Feel free to add your own favorite TV/radio ads … of yesteryear. Now, on to Top Comments : (Nothing came-in from the field this evening, alas) And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........ In the diary by Mikey Weinstein about how 16 years ago he received a handwritten letter from Jimmy Carter, praising his work on trying to keep church-and-military separate — longtime supporter of Mr. Weinstein’s efforts Rightprice fills-in some of the back-story as a guide. Next - enjoy jotter's wonderful (and now eternal) *PictureQuilt™* below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment featuring that photo. TOP PHOTOS February 22nd, 2023 NOTE: Any missing images in the Quilt were removed because (a) they were from an unapproved source that somehow snuck through in the comments, or (b) it was an image from the DailyKos Image Library which didn't have permissions set to allow others to use it.) And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion: [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/23/2154063/-Top-Comments-Commercials-into-songs-edition Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/