среда, февраля 10, 2010

Truly Madly Deeply in Puma Ad
Настроение:oddly touched

Puma have made a clever advert in their 'love equals football' campaign that uses 'Truly Madly Deeply'.
It's the first time Savage Garden has ever granted permission for our songs to be used in such a way. Ironically it almost didn't happen. When the publishing company contacted me initially about using the song I think my exact words were 'Hell to the no!'.

The director was apparently gutted we'd said no and he reached out to me to explain his vision for the idea. He understood that the description of a bunch of drunken football hooligans singing our song to their wives and girlfriends probably didn't read as the most flattering use.
Bear in mind, we've always been aware that the worth of a song is in the memories your audience attach to it, and not in the quick buck you might make by selling it off to flog things.

Over the years there have been ludicrous requests to use some of my/our songs. The request for 'I Want You' as a song for a famous fried chicken outlet was perhaps the strangest. As you can imagine, we have gotten used to saying 'no'.

But when the director showed me some test footage he'd shot of real footballers singing the song, I instantly got it. I was touched.

I think what I liked was the fact that the song shone through as a universal love song. As an ad, it's obviously many things. Ugly. Funny. Sincere. Hilarious. But oddly touching.

I realised in watching the test footage, that actually it's really a compliment to the universal appeal of the song. In this pub as these men sing the song it is actually short hand for 'I love you'
No matter who you are or where you're coming from, it's about saying 'I love you'

Daniel and I both thought it was a cool idea and to everyone's surprise we said yes. The finished ad still cracks me up, makes me laugh and at the same time moves me.

And I'm really proud that a song can do that.