Five years ago at the inception of this Funkalicious blog, I talked about the value and use of FUNK in advertising. My intent was to show how influential FUNK still is today, although the epitome of the essence of FUNK, was 40 years ago.
The latest example of the power of FUNK in advertising, is displayed in a dog food commercial via George Clinton’s “Atomic Dog.” The Purina spot first hit the airwaves on July 17th of last year, entitled “World’s Most Entertaining Treat,” it’s still airing today.
Released in 1982, in the two decades that followed, “Atomic Dog” was sampled in several rap songs. It’s also been used in TV spots, accompanying movie trailers for “102 Dalmatians”, “Toy Story 2”, “Rugrats Go Wild” and “Legally Blonde 2.” I had the pleasure and privilege to speak to Clinton back in 1999, all FUNK enthusiasts click here: https://museumofuncutfunk.com/2009/06/04/george-clinton-interview/
I’m prompted to bring this to light, as the first time I actually saw the spot, was this past week. Last night, I see the latest tune from Michael Jackson, featured in a commercial for Jeep. “Love Never Felt So Good” is the chosen song for the car company’s campaign “Call of Summer.”
The appearance of the song in the commercial, coincided with the release of Jackson’s posthumous release “Xscape.” One who’s a fan of MJ but not of music releases post the demise of an artist, Epic’s deal with JEEP, is proof positive of exploiting “The King of Pop.” I actually like the “Xscape” album, but did not purchase it, instead I listened to it online as to not feed the corporate machine https://museumofuncutfunk.com/2014/05/24/xscape-the-funkin-posthumous-michael-jackson-album/. Despite my lack of monetary support, the album has sold over 300-thousand copies in the U.S. since its May 13 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It peaked at number-two on the Billboard album chart, and currently sits at number-21.
More than 3.8 million copies of Jackson’s albums have been purchased in the U.K. in the last five years since his death, according to the Official Charts Company. That number includes sales of both posthumous albums released by his estate — 2010’s “Michael” and “Xscape,” which became the singer’s 10th U.K. number-one album last month — in addition to his previous studio releases, compilations, soundtracks and live albums.
Ironically, my third installment of “Funk Ad(d)s Up 2 $” and Michael Jackson’s death, both occurred in the same month. I published blogs on the value of FUNK and the loss of Michael, within a month of the other — it took me several days to pay tribute to MJ as I was still in shock and mourning https://museumofuncutfunk.com/2009/07/03/thoughts-on-michael-jackson/ .
Funk Ad(d)s Up 2 $ Dollars – Parts 1-4:
https://museumofuncutfunk.com/2009/04/21/funk-ads-up-2/
https://museumofuncutfunk.com/2009/05/05/funk-ads-up-2-part-deux/
https://museumofuncutfunk.com/2009/06/03/funk-ads-up-to-part-three/
https://museumofuncutfunk.com/2011/11/22/funk-adds-up-2-dollars-part-iv/
for the LOVE of FUNK & Michael…
c-dub
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