Copyrights would have protected us all from Old Navy

[KurtNYC]

It takes me about 3 seconds to get to the mute button but in that 3 seconds I hear Old Navy purposely making the already rating "12 Days of Christmas" (the holiday equivalent of "99 Bottles of Beer") with their annoying as heck lyrics. WHY? I ask myself.

Why do all these commercials butcher Christmas music for the almighty dollar? The simple answer is: Because they can.

At least when an artist sells the rights to use their music in a commercial, they get some say in which version is used and how. But once a song falls out of copyright protection, it is open season.

"Bludgeoning" is the industry term for the kind of ads Old Navy's agency does. The basic principal is that people remember painful events -- seeing Carrot Top, hearing 12 Days of Christmas in the worst form possible, etc. Rather than lull us and seduce us with beautiful women, good music and humor, Old Navy creates a loud bizarre world where young 20s types smile emptily while wearing the cheap versions of the same stuff the parent company sells at The Gap. In their world, thin scratchy poly-blended fabric is great and seams that aren't straight and aren't finished cleanly are highly desirable (apparently). Non-fashion is high fashion and bad music is exciting. The ads assault us on every level: visually, audibly and with their smiling vision of mindless consumerist Hell, emotionally.

Curse you Old Navy, your ad agency and whoever wrote those horribly awkward lyrics to a song that was already among the worst of the Christmas repertoire!

[davidinalameda]

1. I think the lyrics are supposed to be horrible on purpose

made you start a thread about them

looks like they're doing their job--sticking in the minds of the consumers

[ET Awful]

2. Yup, I think the whole campaign is sheer advertising genius

annoying as hell, but also effective as hell.

People WILL remember it. There's no such thing as bad publicity :)

[mdhunter]

3. All of Old Navy's campaigns are "good" that way.

Bright colors, annoying music, and just plain weirdness. You can't help but notice them.

[ET Awful]

5. True, but this campaign is just a tad better IMO because it uses

familiar tunes, coupled with unfamiliar words, it sticks even better in the brain of the average consumer :)

[jackelope72]

4. Isn't it one of the big signs that your career is over

when you start appearing in Old Navy ads?

That little boy holding the sign needs to just go away. Just go away. Away. Begone.

[KurtNYC]

6. from Google