Branded at the drive in

Car crash marketing

What?: Cars and music have always come hand-in-hand in advertising, but as new deals are struck how beneficial and credible is automobile association?

* Wilco have authorized the use of songs from their new Sky Blue Sky album to be used in a Volkswagen advertising campaign

* Audi AG is to promote Seal as their brand ambassador with live performances at ‘talk of the town’ car showcases in Germany

* Classic FM has struck a £1M advertising deal with Ford Galaxy, featuring classic children’s stories read by celebrities with classical background music

So what?: Wilco were accused of selling out recently for allowing five of their tracks to be used in a VW campaign. If it was good enough for The Cure – whose track Inbetween Days featured in a Punto ad back in 2003 – surely it’s good enough for anyone?

Wilco, attempting to justify their Moby like approach to angry fans, had this to say: “With the commercial radio airplay route getting more difficult for many bands; we see this as another way to get the music out there…we feel okay about VWs. Several of us even drive them”

For car manufactures perception is everything. But just how indie are gas guzzling VW’s though? And how many Cure fans actually rushed out to buy a Fiat Punto?

Ford showcase a new breed of campaign here, targeting focused content instead of perception.

www.wilcoworld.net

www.audi.com