Product Placement in Music

speaking of The Who...

Certain songs were banned by the BBC for one such reason or another, often quite innocuous, Walk like an Egyptian by the Bangles was banned during the Gulf Wars for example.

Others were more understandable, God Save The Queen by the Sex Pistols was never going to be played. Lola by the Kinks was banned not because it was one of the first records to deal with transgender as many thought, but because of product placement. The original line said, where they drink champagne that tastes just like Coca Cola.

When Ray Davis heard he was in America and had to jet back and re record it in a couple of days. Back then airtime on Radio 1 could make or break a song. The words now say cherry cola.

I can’t post links but Coca Cola also gets a mention in Straight to Hell by the only band that matters.

“It ain’t Coca Cola it’s rice.”

I worked at this place (it's now a part of Nuance Communications) in 2004 and 2005.

Prince - Little Red Corvette


1. The most obvious product indicated in the song is Corvette.
2. Also there was a very brief reference to a pocket full of Trojan condoms.

Doug E. Fresh Lyrics
"La Di Da Di"
(feat. Mc Ricky D (Slick Rick))

[Slick Rick:]
OK, party people in the house
You're about to witness something you've never witnessed before
Yes, it's the original human beat box, Doug E. Fresh
And his partner, the grand wizard, MC Ricky D, D
And that's me in the place to be
And we gonna show you how we do it for '85, kickin' live, alright
Because, um, I've got a funny feeling, um
you're all sick of all these crap rappers
Bitin' their rhymes because um they're back-stabbers
But when it comes to me and my friend Doug Fresh here
There is no competition 'cause we are the best, yeah
But let's impress which we prove
And ya all will realize that we are the move
So listen close so you all don't miss
As we go a little somethin' like this
Hit it

Ah yeah
You know what

La-Di-Da-Di
La-Di-Da-Di
La-Di
La-Di

You know what, yo peep this
La-Di-Da-Di, we likes to party
We don't cause trouble, we don't bother nobody, we're
Just some men thats on the mic
And when we rock up on the mic we rock the mic right
For all of y'all keepin y'all in health
Just to see ya smile and enjoy yourself
'Cause it's cool when ya cause a cozy conditioning
That we create, 'cause that's our mission
So listen to what we say
Because this type of ****, it happens everyday
I woke up around ten o' clock in the mornin'
I gave myself a stretch up, a mornin' yawnin'
Went to the bathroom to wash up
Had some soap on my face and my hand up on a cup
I said, um, mirror mirror on the wall
Who is the top choice of them all
There was a rubble dubble, five minutes it lasted
The mirror said you are you conceited bastard

Well that's true, thats why we never have no beef
So then I washed off the soap and brushed the gold teeth
Used Oil Of Olay 'cause my skin gets pale
And then I got the files for my fingernails
Chewed through the night and on my behalf
I put the bubbles in the tub so I could have a bubble bath
Clean, dry was my body and hair
I threw on my brand new Gucci underwear
For all the girls I might take home
I got the Johnson's Baby Powder and the Polo cologne
Fresh dressed like a million bucks
Threw on the bally shoes and the fly green socks
Stepped out my house stopped short, oh no
I went back in, I forgot my kangol
And then I dilly (dallied)
I ran though a (alley)
I bumped into my homegirl (Sally)
From the (valley)
This is the girl plays hard to get so I said
Whats wrong 'cause she looked upset, she said
It's all because of you I'm feelin' sad and blue
You went away and now my life is filled with rainy days
I love you so, how much you'll never know
'Cause you took your love away from me
Now what was I to do, she's cryin' over me
And she was feelin' blue
I said, um, don't cry, dry your eye
Here comes your mother with those two little guys
Her mean mother stepped up, said to me hi
Looked Sally in the face and decked her in the eye
Punched her in the belly and stepped on her feet
Slammed the child on the hard concrete
The bitch was strong, the kids was gone
Something was wrong, I said what is goin' on
I tried to break it up, I said stop it, leave her
She said, if I can't have you, she can't either
She grabbed me closely by my socks
So I broke the hell out like I had the chicken pox, but
She gave chase; she caught up quick
She put a finger in the face of MC Rick
She said why don't you give me a play
So we can go cruisin' in my oj
And if you give me that OK
I'll give you all my love today
Ricky, Ricky, Ricky, can't you see
Somehow your words just hypnotize me
And I just love your jazzy ways, oh
MC Rick my love is here to stay
And on and on and on she kept on
The bitch been around before my mother's born
I said cheer up, I gave her a kiss
I said you can't have me, I'm too young for you miss
She says no you're not, then she starts cryin'
I says I'm nineteen, she said stop lyin'
I says I am, go ask my mother
And with your wrinkled p____, I can't be your lover
To the tick tock ya don't stop
To the tick tick ya don't quit, hit it

Anything - Jaheim (feat. Next)



Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

You can have anything I got
All of me right on the spot
Na, na, na
You can have anything I own
Work my fingers all the way to the bone

Now baby I don't wanna be fictitious
Saying that I can get you anything is ridiculous
But anything you ask if its anywhere near
My grasp it's yours, oh yeah

Now I don't got fancy cars or diamond rings
Lord knows I will if I make it with this singing thing
Hold on, have faith in me
'Cause anything I have is yours, baby

You can have anything I got
All of me right on the spot
Na, na, na
You can have anything I own
Work my fingers all the way to the bone
Na, na, na

Girl I know you wanna roll a Lexus
A Lexus with a mansion down in Texas
It's more like apartment 8, cellular is prepaid
But baby it's all okay

I can't do all the things I wanna do
But I can love you and I can stay true
I'll give you my last dime, spend all my time
It's yours whatever is mine, anything you want

You can have anything I got
All of me right on the spot
Na, na, na
You can have anything I own
Work my fingers all the way to the bone
Na, na, na

Now I don't have no LS to drive
But I'm a man with a whole lot of plans
And a lot of love inside
Just believe and pray, hold on to me and say stay
I can't handle you leaving me

Just dream, dream with Jaheim
I'll work overtime anytime just to give you peace of mind
Please just believe, everything and anything
All of me baby, baby, baby, baby

You can have anything I got
All of me right on the spot
Na, na, na
You can have anything I own
Work my fingers all the way to the bone
Na, na, na
You can have anything you want
Anything you want, anything you need
Anything I have baby girl just ask
Anything you want, anything you need

Charlie Wilson - There Goes My Baby

There is a quick reference to Macy's
at 1:15 into the video.

You know I love that organic cooking
I always ask for more
And they call me Mr. Natural
On down to the health food store

I only eat good sea salt
White sugar dont touch my lips
And my friends is always
Begging me to take them
On macrobiotic trips
Yes, they are

Oh, but at night I take out my strongbox
That I keep under lock and key
And I take it off to my closet
Where nobody else can see

I open that door so slowly
Take a peek up north and south
Then I pull out a Hostess Twinkie
And I pop it in my mouth

Yeah, in the daytime I'm Mr. Natural
Just as healthy as I can be
But at night I'm a junk food junkie
Good Lord have pity on me

Well, at lunchtime
You can always find me
At the Whole Earth Vitamin Bar
Just sucking on my plain white yogurt
From my hand thrown pottery jar

And sippin' a little hand pressed cider
With a carrot stick for dessert
And wiping my face in a natural way
On the sleeve of my peasant shirt
Oh, yeah

Ah, but when that clock strikes midnight
And I'm all by myself
I work that combination
On my secret hideaway shelf

And I pull out some Fritos corn chips
Dr. Pepper and an Ole Moon Pie
Then I sit back in glorious expectation
Of a genuine junk food high

Oh yeah, in the daytime I'm Mr. Natural
Just as healthy as I can be
But at night I'm a junk food junkie
Good Lord have pity on me

My friends down at the commune
They think I'm pretty neat
Oh, I don't know nothing about arts and crafts
But I give 'em all something to eat

I'm a friend to old Euell Gibbons
And I only eat homegrown spice
I got a John Keats autographed Grecian urn
Filled up with my brown rice
Yes, I do

Oh, but folks lately I have been spotted
With a Big Mac on my breath
Stumbling into a Colonel Sanders
With a face as white as death

I'm afraid someday they'll find me
Just stretched out on my bed
With a handful of Pringles Potato Chips
And a Ding Dong by my head

In the daytime I'm Mr. Natural
Just as healthy as I can be
But at night I'm a junk food junkie
Good Lord have pity on me

Lorde's "Royals":

But every song's like
Gold teeth, Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom
Bloodstains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room
We don't care
We're driving Cadillacs in our dreams
But everybody's like
Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece
Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash
We don't care
We aren't caught up in your love affair

Meatloaf's "Two out of Three":

You'll never find your gold on a sandy beach
You'll never drill for oil on a city street
I know you're looking for a ruby
In a mountain of rocks
But there ain't no Coupe de Ville hiding
At the bottom of a Cracker Jack box

Gucci



[Verse 1]
Every day I see you wearing things
That have never been worn before
While the children at the government schools
Send money for the poor
And all you buy, you bargain for
With your little man
So that from your silks down to your paramour
You're tres, tres paragon

[Chorus]
So it's back beach in the summer
The chalet for the snow
You poor hoochie Gucci Fiorucci mama
You got really no place to go

[Verse 2]
Antiques flown in from Venice
Fill your house upon the hill
While your money sold the soul of rock and roll
For some cheap disco thrill
I've seen your peers pouting over beers
The loneliness it showed
Mistaking tacky sex for sensuality
They bought in Toorak Road

[Chorus]
So it's back beach in the summer
The chalet for the snow
You poor hoochie Gucci Fiorucci mama
You got really no place to go

[Verse 3]
Inside her empty castle
Her lonely heart will dwell
The life that she's been losing's
Like some stony bagatelle
The loving that you never found
Don't know the reason why
Oh, hoochie Gucci Fiorucci mama
Don't you cry

Mercedes (and Levis and Pucci)



Well you look so cute in your Levis suit
Struttin' down Collins Street
With your Pucci shoes and your faded blues
Honey you look so neat
You dress so well no one could tell
You spend Thursdays with your mechanic
Suburban passion it's all the fashion
Your husband don't know so don't panic
Mercedes Ladies they got it made
Cos when they dig they use a silver spade
Mercedes Ladies, Mercedes Ladies.
Mercedes Ladies they got it made
Cos when they dig they use a silver spade
Mercedes Ladies, Mercedes Ladies.
You look so smug on your Persian rug
Say your Afghan's got a pedigree
You rest your head on your antique bed
And talk about your arts degree
You act so cool by your heated pool
And take your lunch at three
Own half a boutique that's oh so chic
And work hard for charity
Mercedes Ladies they got it made
Cos when they dig they use a silver spade
Mercedes Ladies, Mercedes Ladies.
Mercedes Ladies they got it made
Cos when they dig they use a silver spade
Mercedes Ladies, Mercedes Ladies.
You knew there's only one thing better than a 250S
And that's a two-eighty SL or a two-eighty SE
and there's only one thing better
Than a three-fifty SL and that's a two-eighty CE
Or a three-fifty SLC or a three-hundred SEL V8
Take pottery classes and you make passes
At every young man you find
Recapture your youth oh ain't it the truth
That you're just one of a kind
You could be left or you could be right
Or you might just vote for kicks
But you're the perfect wife in a perfect life
I won't bore you with politics

Mercedes again (and Porsche)

Everything



Updated for this century

Oldest product placement so far?

Wow, probably!

And if you're off on a holiday, Cats UK wants you to know all about Luton Airport.

I’d managed to forget about that. It is as terrible today as it was then.

All The Young Dudes by Mott The Hoople references Marks and Spencers

I think the Gohil's shop is now defunct.



I've got a little black book with my poems in
I've got a bag with a toothbrush and a comb in
When I'm a good dog they sometimes throw me a bone in

I got elastic bands keeping my shoes on
Got those swollen hand blues.
I got thirteen channels of **** on the T.V. to choose from

I've got electric light
And I've got second sight
Got amazing powers of observation

And that is how I know
When I try to get through
On the telephone to you
There'll be nobody home

I've got the obligatory Hendrix perm
And the inevitable pinhole burns
All down the front of my favourite satin shirt

I've got nicotine stains on my fingers
I've got a silver spoon on a chain
I've got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains

I've got wild staring eyes
I've got a strong urge to fly
But I've got nowhere to fly to

Ooh, babe, when I pick up the phone
There's still nobody home

I've got a pair of Gohil's boots
But I've got fading roots.