Mike McLaughlin <[log in to unmask]> wrote

>What do you think about classical music being used in commercials?

As an advertising copywriter, I too have mixed feelings about this
subject.  I'm also a consumer and I very much regret, for example,
the decision by the Gershwin estate to sell Rhapsody in Blue to United
Airlines. (I also resent the use of certain classic rock tunes, though
I am guilty of this in some of my own work.)  In the case of "real"
classical music, i.e., by composers now in the Public Domain, for which
advertisers need only pay the performers, or in the case of certain
Eastern European performances, only a small annual buy-out rate, the
economics of the situation plays a big part.  On balance, I guess I
don't mind the use of classical music in most commercials, if the use is
appropriate--that is, the matchup of music and product is appropriate,
or even hilariously inappropriate; and if it's not edited in a way that
obviously destroys the melody.  (Classical music does not often come in
convenient 30- or 15-second bites.)  In those cases, I do think that the
exposure to CM outweighs the offense.  But to get back to the Gershwin
example, I think it would be very bad if a MAJOR advertiser took a
well-known theme and forever burned it into the public consciousness as
"their" theme.  Imagine if McDonald's, with their huge budget, decided
to "own" Beethoven's 5th, or the Eroica, or Mozart's "Jupiter", or, let's
say, the "Rhine" theme from Reingold, or --pick your favorite composition.
Truly the stuff of nightmares!

Dave Wolf
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