The guy drives his classic Camaro down a lonely western highway. Up comes the notes of a song I instantly recognize — Howlin’ Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning.” It’s Wolf in full Wolf mode:

Ohhh-ohhhh, smokestack lightning
Shinin’, just like gold
Why don’t ya hear me cryin’?
Ah, wooooooooo….ah, woooooo….
Whoo…

Like a lot of Wolf songs, this one’s about sex — namely, about a woman cheating on the Wolf while he was gone and his immediate decision to throw her out. Later in the song:

Whoa, oh, who been here baby since
I, I been gone — a little, bitty boy?
Girl, be on
Ah, wooooooooo….ah, woooooo….
Whoo…

And the commercial is about…Viagra. Now, I’m not sure if the Viagra makers took a look at the lyrics before deciding to associate their product with a song about cheating, but I do have to admit it sounds good (the music, not the concept).

I always laugh when this sort of thing happens. I remember a Johnson and Johnson commercial a few years ago where Randy Neuman plays “I’m Different,” which he wrote. He really only sings the first line:

I’m different and I don’t care who knows it….

…and then the announcer gets cued and the pitch begins. But here’s the rest of that verse:

Something about me is not the same
I’m different — that’s how it goes
Ain’t gonna play your goddamn game.

And later in the song:

I’m not sayin’ I’m better than you, but maybe I am.
I only know that when I look in the mirror, I like the man.

Makes you want to buy some baby powder, doesn’t it?

Still, for overall marketing nuttiness, I think the use of Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines tops all. Did these people have any idea what this song is about? And if you think these references are subtle, I give you the first verse:

Here comes Johnny Yen again
With the liquor and drugs
And the flesh machine
He’s gonna do another strip tease
Hey man, were’d ya get that lotion?
I’ve been hurting since I’ve bought the gimmick
About something called love
Yeah, something called love
Well, that’s like hypnotizing chickens

And then we get to the ‘lust for life’ part that the cruise line uses:

Well, I’m just a modern guy
Of course, I’ve had it in the ear before
I have a lust for life
’cause of a lust for life

It seems to me that the line I’ve had it in the ear before would make me question exactly what kind of cruise I was going on.

It’s not just advertisers who don’t get it. Consider the move some years back to make “Born to Run” the official New Jersey state song. Sample lyrics:

Baby this town rips the bones from your back
It’s a death trap, it’s a suicide rap
We’ve got to get our while we’re young
‘Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run

Dear legislators: This is a song about GETTING THE HELL OUT OF NEW JERSEY.

Politicians regularly want to use Springsteen’s “Born In The USA” or John Mellencamp’s “Pink Houses” at rallies. Do these people ever listen to the lyrics?

Born down in a dead man’s town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
End up like a dog that’s been beat too much
‘Til you spend half your life just covering up
Born in the U.S.A.

——-

There’s a black man with a black cat, livin’ in a black neighborhood
He’s got an interstate runnin’ through his front yard. Lord, he thinks he’s got it so good.

Boy, there’s some lyrics that make you wrap your arms around politicians, eh?