http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxdJn6tQWSk&feature=share
The ad is for STP obviously, but if you were to ask our classmates "Who is this?", my guess is not one would know. The voice-over is done by Mike Cooley, guitarist for the band Drive By Truckers, and the music is from a song of theirs called "Lookout Mountain." Interesting how the commercial's name is "Left Lane." And the song is about suicide, but we will get to that in a minute.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=s6OC03q7Bx4
Same STP ad, same Mike Cooley, same hard-drivin' guitar. The music is "Where the Devil Don't Stay". But who cares right? Turn it up and drive FAST!
Okay, not so fast. Some fans might say "sellout" when they describe this video commercial, others might say "cool." And some might not care either way. What does this say about the commercial, the consumer, and the DBT fan? First, the commercial itself is typical for a car product ad, appealing to a tall, male leadfoot with a penchant for rock guitar-or any male who wants to relate. Both ads sell the virtues of a cleaner running car in regards to speed and power. And both ads are appealling to the eye, as in a nice looking black hot rod or passing cars- look good and feel good doing it, courtesy of your fuel treatment, STP.
Drive By Truckers - Hell no I Ain't Happy
A home-made video(not mine) to a cool DBT song with art by Wes Freed.
Wes's homepage: http://www.wesfreed.com/
A current photo:
So what is the ad saying? What is STP trying to convey? And is this band a "sellout"?
In response to that the ad is saying nothing other than typical "big ad" propaganda- at one point the ad claims "..10 times the treatment power...". As opposed to what? Most of us are aware it probably has some good uses, of course, and in fact probably does help your engine's fuel chain work cleaner, but it is obvious this a typical ad. And should be, they have to sell it right? The band's role in this is simple. We like cars too, and we like the money. Even myself, Mr. Environmental And I Hate Big Oil, would take the money. So a sellout, not in my opinion.
Obviously this is not the first band to endorse a product in a commercial. And this is a television advertisement. Here is the thing: I watched it on YouTube. Yup, while I was watching some DBT stuff there it was. What does that mean? It is the beauty of a connected web isn't it? In the old days, my kids say when I was young the world was flat,...In the old days, record companies might release a song to radio and then market that whole record. Today, the internet is so connected and available, many artists use it as the first medium without only a whole record to buy, but rather the consumer chooses(iTunes). And some offerings are free.
Apply that to this STP ad and think of how potent it would be as a new release at say the Daytona 500. Fans of NASCAR would mesh with fans of STP and they would both be introduced to the fanbase of The Drive By Truckers. ONLINE. Because sure, you can see the ad as you watch the race on CBS or TNT, but if you log in...you get the new video for DBT featuring STP and NASCAR highlights from the previouse 25 Daytona 500's and now all these are connected. More importantly connected to the consumer, all at once. Everybody wins, the consumer gets STP coupons and DBT downloads and the prospectors(DBT, STP, NASCAR, CBS, etc.) get to reach a wide consumer base which means more profit.
Ads are not associated with any particular tune or song, and since no lyrics are used there really is not any need to address the song being about suicide. And that is fine, just don't associate the two. It is however, ironic, that the message is about fuel treatment, but implies that we all want to drive fast and can.
What does this mean to us as consumers? Nothing. There is nothing un-ethical about the players here, STP might stretch the stats a little, DBT might play too loud, but both want the consumer to be happy. And really, if you ask me, it is the consumer's responsibility to use common sense when judging advertising.
The DRIVE BY TRUCKERS webpage- The Vault: Archived Music
DBT on Halloween 2004, Chicago. "Lookout Mountain"
Another painfully dumb ad from STP:
Ad for the STP400 Sprint Cup Race:
Even though these commercials were just ads, the fact that we can share them and in turn distribute them for STP, DBT, and such alike, makes the medium still to this day revolutionary, in my opinion. And yes, there are negative points about the sharing and the internet(property rights and viruses are just 2), but they are pale in comparison to the benefits of an interactive, distributed, and technological medium such as this. Because just reading this blog and watching the videos, you may check out The Drive By Truckers.
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