And so it goes: Another rock classic has become another irritating commercial jingle sure to be stuck in your head for days. You'll find yourself in Target or buying diapers singing the wrong words to the co-opted song while John Lennon gets a twitch underground (or on Yoko's mantle or wherever he rests, God bless his songwriting soul).
The twitchiness is with reason. Luvs, the maker of craptastic (and I mean that oh-so literally) disposable diapers, has glommed on to the 60s peace tune "All You Need Is Love" (only their version goes "All you need is Luvs"...heh, heh...clever, right?) to sell their waste wears. And the result? Fans, outraged. Focus groups, nodding and smiling, nodding and smiling, "Oh hell yes, I would buy those for sure! The song's so darn adorable, you'd have to buy that brand!"
While I don't love this whole song kidnapping thing (has anyone told Barry Manilow about all this?), I did hear a compelling interview with John Cougar Mellencamp who defended selling his own "This Is Our Country" song to the Chevy folks. He said that selling the song broadens his fan-base in a rapidly changing market and if it is good enough for Dylan, he can withstand the criticism from music fans. I actually cheered for old JC for that, and yet, I have a hard time believing the Beatles need to boost their fan base. This is just another reason to ignore lazy Luvs in the old nappy aisle and to pray that the jingle writers of America will get more work soon.
