Scamp reader 50p points us to this nice piece by a BBC blogger which alleges that rappers are taking money from marketers to mention their brands.
If it's true, I'm not that surprised. These so-called artists are very happy to get their tours sponsored, license dolls of themselves... I'm sure Michelangelo would have added a bottle of Renaissance Water into the corner of the ceiling if they'd slipped him a few ducats.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
And They Call Us Whores
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41 comments:
Five years ago I had the idea of getting a rapper to create a track that happened to mention Snickers, just to see what effect it might have. We sponsor his work/recording and the product gets a mention.
Despite the low cost, the client failed to buy the track and the experiment never got off the ground.
But it seemed like a no brainer (as long as you don't look like you're doing it). Cristal is huge thanks to hip hop and brands like Yahtzee and Chateauneuf Du Pape have been namechecked by the Beastie Boys.
Racist BBC again.
The Worzels did wonders for the combine harvester market in the early 70s.
Anyone complain about that?
yeah, and that Bowie Life on Mars thing.
Hey scamp i posted the link to the bbc article on your blog yesterday don't i get credit for inspiring this post?!
scamp is a tramp, FACT
Coming up with rhymes is harder than you think. To quote The Onion:
Rapper Young Jeezy, attempting to put the finishing touches on his latest single "U Know Da Club," has exhausted every rhyme possibility for his song's third verse with the exception of "Cliff Clavin," the fictional postal-worker character portrayed by actor John Ratzenberger on the long-running TV show Cheers. "I've already got 'dance-club maven,' 'hip-hop haven,' 'yes I been cravin',' 'ain't misbehavin',' 'pussy gonna cave in,' 'G's I been savin',' 'steel engravin',' and 'rantin' and ravin','" Young Jeezy said. "I guess I could use 'shock-wavin'' or 'clean shaven,' but they just don't make as much sense in context as 'just like Cliff Clavin.'" Jeezy is also struggling to complete a track called "Ideal Woman," since he cannot find a single rhyme for "Rhea Perlman."
yes losers of course you did!!!
Capitalism is winning big time.
Go capitalsim!
Hopefully the world will be devoid of all artistic merit soon.
*looks at nice new trainers*
i cant believe you old folks even know who wiley is, im embarrassed, im deleting him off my itunes as we speak, next you will be telling me what 'titchey strider' is up to!
Once again it seems Lunar had the idea before everyone else. Just like the radiohead video. It must be boring being constantly one step ahead.
I think the original line was "Next thing she's wearing my Swatch" anyway, but it didn't scan so well.
I think you mean "Tinchy Strider" young whippersnapper. And he's going to be in my next spot for a piles ointment. We will commodify your dissent. Like it or not.
anyone know how good old wally is getting on? its all gone quite over there!
Michelangelo was already advertising something: God. I think a bottle of water would have been an unwanted double proposition from the planner (Pope Peter).
i have heard of rappers doing this and maybe some of the big well known ones do. But there is an argument that rappers just want freebies.
Radio one djs have done it for years, i swear Chris Moyles got a free crate of mayo or something. And Jay Z had a holiday paid for and a rolls royce by a certain champagne brand. Just for a few well placed mentions.
But i don't think its true of lesser known stars. Would Rolex really want to be associated with such a music genre (grime)?
after all most people who have heard it, or like the music genre can't afford one.
Freebies me thinks.
Talking of freebies... what's with the lack of free shizzle on shoots these days?!
As a young creative I can't help but think that everything was better in the 80s (on a purely long lunch, Ferrari, whores every night basis).
50p aka kappa, ryanair, dell, swatch, greggs etc - I'm soooooooooooo sorry. I did originally credit you, but would you believe... I cut it for lack of space? I will re-instate, as long as you don't mind me referring to you by your diminutive...?
i've worked in hip hop/grime and most of the rappers namecheck brands they like or show their status, with no pressure from the brands. if anything, they get the freebies after the name check. or sometimes the opposite (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13350034/)
it's another attack from the nice, safe, middle-class bbc on a culture that has come from nothing and is proud of the nice stuff it has. *how vulgar*
all is forgiven
WORST OFFENDER ALERT!
"Google Me" by Teyana Taylor
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9axroVxp2qI
Can anyone see the Google logo in the music video?!! Look very closely!
i was teetotal until i heard sheryl crowe's 'all i wanna do'. 3 name checks for budweiser. damn you sheryl.
Isn't Google in the dictionary now though, so surely that's alright, whereas Nike, Rolex and Cristal are not.
I don't know if they got paid, but Run DMC's My Adidas has to rank as the most blatant plug in hip hop history.
there was a video a while back with some needy identikit R&B singer who'd neatly sidestepped the whole endorsement/namecheck thing and gone straight to singing directly to a car about how much she loved it. it was quite freaky. you could see what one it was and everything.
one of those, I imagine, that starts life as a token stab at branded content and while you're not paying attention they organise the shoot and you're on it and everyone stands around not able to look each other in the eye and wondering just how much distance they can put between their name and the press release.
innit.
cheese.jpg
God whatever NEXT. Its not as though these superstars can't afFORD to buy these things with their wadges anyway!
i GUESS its just greed getting the better of tHeM?
And the brands definitely aren't INNOCENT in all of this.
Remember this? Nelly: Air Force Ones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlXaPL339iw
A music video used to be an advert for a song. Because people would buy the music. But now people don't buy the music, so the song itself has to be an advert for something people will buy. This is officially an awful development.
And music is one thing, film is even worse. Anyone see Transformers or the last James Bond? David Lynch did, and it really got his back up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4wh_mc8hRE&feature=related
Did you know this kind of great innovative marketing is happening in literature as well?
http://ideasbrothers.net/?p=89
I guess lynch didn't feel like that when gucci paid him millions to direct dancing models in drugs.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ8tUqWGsws
aren't those idea brothers guys from Grand Theft Auto?
I'm with David Lynch on this one.
we ARE whores
Subtlety went out the window when it came to:
Macdonalds, Macdonalds, Kentucky fried chicken and a Pizza Hut....Macdonalds, Macdonalds, Kentucky fried chicken and a Pizza Hut.
Is there a difference between this and sports stars getting wheelbarrows full of cash?
Korn - Adidas was also a pretty blatant bit of sponsored music.
I have no problem with music sponsorship, but it shouldnt affect creative work.
11.21. the golden arches are Mcdonalds. I suppose the red telephone company is Vodaphone too!? We should always spell our paymasters' names correct.
what the hell is adam tucker doing at W+K?
http://wklondon.typepad.com/welcome_to_optimism/2008/07/new-creative-faces.html
and why are they pretending he's called alan turner?
what about "dr. stay dry"? different approach though. he never mentioned axe (lynx) in his song "dont sweat that".
michaelangelo added popes to his ceiling. loads of them. men. right up next to god.
that's a good enough sell out to me.
If someone namechecks a brand like Rolex without being paid, then he's a bling obsessed rapper. That's cool. If he gets paid for namechecking Rolex, then he's an employee of the Rolex Corporation. That's not cool.
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