Luvs For Sale
Marc
company is going to use the music and lyrics of "All You Need Is
Love" to sell diapers, I wanted to share with you an article I wrote
21 years ago. It was originally published on March 27, 1986 in the
Ithaca Times of Ithaca NY.
******************************************************************
"Once upon a time, Tin Pan Alley composers, hunched over a piano,
wrote jingles for advertising agencies. The firms presented the
jingles, complete with lyrics extolling the virtues of products, or
services, to companies eagerly awaiting the display of their wares on
TV. We found out where "the yellow went", how "a little dab'l will do
ya", and why we should "see the USA in your Chevrolet" from little
ditties expressly written for advertisements. But the tune has
changed during the last few years.
Prompted by the success of music videos on MTV, advertisers discovered
that many people, with a lot of money to spend, had been weaned on
Rock 'n' Roll. The TV and radio jingles bit the dust, and Rock songs
from the past 30 years began to provide background music for
commercials. Initially, it was rather innocuous. You heard the song,
recognized it as a distant memory, and then dismissed it. Now, in the
middle of the 1980s, you can not watch a major network, or cable TV
station, without being bombarded by an advertisement containing a doo-
wop song from the Fifties, or a psychedelic number from the Sixties,
or this week's synthesized hit. It's enough to give any Rock music
fan an earache.
It all started around 1983, when it seemed that every commercial used
a tune from the Beach Boys' songbook. Thouse bouncy Wilson
compositions sold cars, motor bikes, and orange juice across tube-
land. People shook their heads, and wondered if the Beach Boys no
longer had any pride left for the music loved by two generations. No
measurable protest emerged, but then the boys and girls of Madison
Avenue overstepped the boundaries of greed. They had used Chubby
Checker, Donovan, and the Grassroots to make their pitch, but now they
dared to tread on sacred ground...The Beatles.
The first assault upon the music that inspired millions occurred
during the Grammy Awards in February 1985. The first commercial of
the evening was a Ford Motor Company ad using the song, "Help", a
Lennon-McCartney song from 20 years ago. Devout fans of The Beatles
became upset that the words and music of songs so emotionally
intertwined with their coming of age, and young adulthood, could be
used as fodder for a TV commercial. Since 1980, fans have endured
misinformation and ignorant revisonism aboout the band from the media,
spiteful quick-buck books from former Apple employees, and other
hangers-on, and a lackluster celebration of the 20th anniversary of
The Beatles' arrival in the United States by the music and recording
industry, which owes its existence and continued success to the advent
of the Fab Four. To many fans, who had drawn positive messages about
peace and love from the music, these commercials were the crowning
indignity in a long string of insults.
What did Beatles fans do besides commiserate among themselves at
annual conventions, and within the pages of fanzines? They got angry
and wrote heartfelt letters to the organization responsible,
Associated Television (ATV), which owns the copyright privileges for
all songs composed by Lennon and McCartney with The Beatles after
1963, and many Harrison compositions written prior to 1968. In 1964,
Beatles manager, Brian Epstein, and song publicist, Dick James, formed
Northern Songs Ltd. to handle the publishing rights for Lennon-
McCartney songs. The four Beatles, Epstein, and James were the
majority stockholders. Epstein died in 1967. Then, in 1969, Dick
James sold his 37 percent share in the company to Sir Lew Grade, who
represented ATV.
At that point both The Beatles and ATV had virtual equality in stock
ownership. However, a power struggle ensued with each side attempting
to wrest majority control by buying out smaller, independent
stockholders. At the end of the Sixties, The Beatles were
experiencing severe personal and financial differences. The internal
conflicts left Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr in such a
weakened state that ATV easily bought the remaining stock, and took
over majority status. Astonished that they had lost control, and
unwilling to play the role of the minority in the company publishng
their songs, The Beatles sold their shares to ATV in October 1969.
This ended their influence over the use of their own music.
ATV's office in Studio City, California received letters of outrage
regarding the licensing of "Help" to Fod Motors. The commercial was
quickly withdrawn from the market, but another song, "Good Day
Sunshine", is currently making the rounds in a Lincoln-Mercury ad. To
the dismay of Beatles fans, the "Good Day Sunshine" commercial has
been showing up during such Beatle-related TV events as the movie
about John Lennon and Yoko Ono in December 1985, and the presentation
of the Award of Merit to Paul McCartney on the American Music Awards
show on January 27, 1986.
ATV's policy established such a precedent that everyone and his
brother wants to use a Beatles song to sell their products. ATV sold
the rights for the use of "We Can Work It Out" and "She Loves You" for
computer and liquor commercials in Europe. In the United States, ATV
has received numerous requests, among those being considered:
"Michelle" for a deodorant ad, "Golden Slumbers" for a mattress
manufacturer, and "The Long and Winding Road" to sell tires. No one
wants to be left out now that the genie has been let out of the
bottle.
In September 1985, singer Michael Jackson paid $47.5 millon to
purchase ATV. The man with the solo gloves owns the entire Northern
Songs catalog...over 250 compositions. Some fans see Jackson's
takeover as a good sign, noting his friendship and past collaboration
with Paul McCartney. However, there are rumors that Jackson merely
acted as a front for McCartney, and will sell the catalog to him once
the new regime is eatablished at ATV. McCartney and Yoko Ono Lennon
have not bid enough to purchase the songs in the past. But other fans
remain skeptical, remembering that Michael Jackson sold the rights to
his million dollar song, "Billie Jean" to Pepsi-Cola for commercial
use within a year of the song's domination of the Top Ten. The body
wasn't even cold. Some fans fear that Jackson won't hesitate to use
the Lennon-McCartney songbook the same way.
It's too early to tell which direction the Jackson-controlled company
will take. ATV must realize that Beatles fans are a force to be
reckoned with, unwilling to let continue the misuse of the music that
changed their lives. Boycotting has been suggested as a method to
protest any product which chooses to use a Beatles melody or lyrics in
its commercial. The sheer number of people picking up a boycott
banner could be staggering.
The songs of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr formed a soundtrack
for their lives. Fans are determined not to allow these songs...these
individual anthems...to be cheapened now, and tarnished beyond meaning
for future generations. No one wants to hear a grandchild ask, "What
was 'Eleanor Rigby' about before it sold toilet paper?'
************************************************************
The article then went on to talk about the organization I founded to
combat the use of Beatles music in ads. It was called "F.A.C.E. The
Music", which stood for "Fans Against Commercial Exploitation of the
Music". It was a loose-knit organization of about 20 people
nationwide who began a letter writing campaign to ATV, TV networks,
advertising agencies, and the Ford Motor Co. When I became a father
for the first time, later on that year, the whole thing fell apart,
but I did receive an angry letter from lawyers representing NBC-TV,
claiming that my letter to them was harassment, and if I didn't cease
and desist, they would sue me. I wrote back to them, explaining that
I was perfectly within my rights to protest their network showing the
commercials I objected to...and never heard back from them.
So far, no grandchild to ask if "Eleanor Rigby" was about selling
toilet paper, but now, 21 years later, "All You Need Is Love" will
stay within young minds as the song about dirty diapers.
Is that what John Lennon intended for the song?