Top Ten Commercial Songs Of All-Time

I know the title doesn't really explain the subject too well. But, basically, it the top ten songs used in commercials of all-time. To be honest the title just seemed a little too long; and shortening it was the only way to go.

Obviously commercials for albums didn't get included. Neither did commercials for films or TV programs that just happened to have a song playing (otherwise Apocalypse Now featuring The Doors track "The End" would have been included).

Other than that there was no real qualifying criteria; and as usual no voting or outside influence other than the voices in my own head. So on with the list.

10. U.S. Navy (Godsmack - Awake)



Nothing better than capturing the viewers attention than some great music suddenly pumping out in the middle of some boring documentary. And that is what the U.S. Navy did when they used Godsmack's "Awake" in their "Accelerate Your Life" commercial campaign which ran from 2001 - 2009.

09. Levi (T-Rex - 20th Century Boy)



T-Rex in a commercial. Nothing else needs to be said. Marc Bolan, possibly the most underrated talent ever was used by Levi to advertise jeans. The commercial aired, originally in 1991 featuring a relatively unknown Brad Pitt. As he is released from jail a car turns up playing T-Rex's "20th Century Boy".

08. Aiwa (Queen - Another One Bites The Dust)



1998 was a great year. Political correctness had not kicked in and so great commercials were still allowed even if they offended. The commercial starts with a guy putting a CD into the Aiwa car stereo. Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" starts playing. He's waving at passing cars & kids; the old man in the passenger seat is getting pissed. Then when the camera pans back he is actually driving the hearse in a funeral procession. Great advertising and a great song. Boring fact: When played backwards the line "Another one bites the dust" says "Decide to smoke marijuana" - why someone is listening to this track backwards is beyond me.

07. Kia (Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours)



Hamsters driving a Kia Soul car. Apparently Dres, of Black Sheep, was unaware the track was to be used until he saw the commercial on TV; while at home. Turns out that Universal (who own the 'Master' rights) did the deal with Kia. Dres did get in touch with Kia and eventually got paid. But enough about the deal it is just a time to sit back and watch hamsters that don't go "Dibidi ba didi dou dou" like the Hamster Dance.

06. HP Beats (NERO - Promises)



Advertising a laptop with a touch screen; which is odd because in the official music video, featuring Alana Watson, the only computer shown is a table running some futuristic version of Microsoft Surface. Anyway HP make some fantastic laptops and NERO makes some fantastic tracks; so it doesn't matter really.

05. K-Mart (Matroda - Phunkshock)



2012 and the kids are going back to school. Time to head to K-Mart. Watch these kids get beat up for their lunch money when the K-Mart label is sticking out of their clothes. The advert sucks but the track saves it.

04. AT&T (Mary J Blige - The One)



Mary J. Blige before she did the doomed Burger King commercial. AT&T's 'Shedding Styles' campaign. Mary J. Blige goes through about a dozen sets of clothes while playing with her phone. And now everyone is playing with their phone. So, you get a brilliant track, with a really sweet beat, and the chance to witness Mary J. Blige setting a trend that may never end.

03. Nike (Junkie XL - A Little Less Conversation)



It's Elvis. OK Elvis' vocals are on the track and sometimes it is listed as 'Junkie XL Vs Elvis Presley'. Either way Junkie XL gets the credit all the time. An underground football (Americans read that as soccer) tournament takes place with 24 of the top players forming 8 teams. Eric Cantona acts like some Roman Emperor overseeing the matches. The full commercial is 3 minutes long; but if you are a football fan that is not a problem.

02. Internet Explorer (Alex Clare - Too Close)



Forget that it is advertising Internet Explorer and enjoy the track. With that said it is time for the usual comments about Internet Explorer. "Internet Explorer - The most popular browser to download Firefox." "Internet Explorer - So many holes Swiss cheese manufacturers are threatening to sue." "Internet Explorer - Why?" There are hundreds of insults aimed at Internet Explorer; search the Internet and read them all.

01. Levi (Babylon Zoo - Spaceman)



1995, Kristina Semenovskaia as a spacewoman, and Levi jeans again. But possibly the best track ever used in a commercial (since The Doors haven't yet). OK admittedly it is not the correct track; I found this out when I got the single and it was just the first 20-30 seconds then it drops into a Marc Bolan-esque (it is not a real word I'm sure) track. The one used in the commercial was a dance/techno remix called "Spaceman (5th Dimension Remix)". Why it was a spacewoman in the commercial and not actually a spaceman is beyond me.