The Trend of Pop Songs in Car Ads - How Long Ago? (1 Viewer)

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/t/6989/car-commercials-and-the-songs-that-appear-in-them (the above link inspired me to post this topic) How exactly long ago were there pop songs used in car/truck ads? Did this ever happen in the '70s and '80s? Think about it: Kylie Minogue's (the Australian artist and former soap-opera star whose best known US smash was a 1987 cover of Little Eva's "Loco-Motion," which had previously been a #1 hit for Grand Funk Railroad - you know, the "We're an American Band" band - back in 1974) version of Kool & the Gang's "Celebration" was used by Ford Motor Co. for a series of ads in 2005-06, but were there ever any car ads from 1981 or so set to the Kool & the Gang's #1 original version? But what I am unsure of is if this trend didn't really take off until Chevrolet used Bob Seger's 1986 hit "Like a Rock" for their truck ads starting in 1990? ~Ben

In the movie The Doors, they show Light My Fire being used to sell a car in the late 1960's/early 70's. I realize that's a movie based on fact (and has many fictions) but if that's real, it's the earliest example I can think of.

TravisR said:

In the movie The Doors, they show Light My Fire being used to sell a car in the late 1960's/early 70's. I realize that's a movie based on fact (and has many fictions) but if that's real, it's the earliest example I can think of.

Click to expand...

Hard to believe it is real, because John Densmore has (notoriously) single-handedly prevented any Doors music from being used in commercials. Think about it - we never hear Doors music in commercials. In articles I've read, even his surviving colleagues (e.g., Ray Manzarek) have urged Densmore to agree, but he has been steadfast in his position. Here's a link to a 2005 article; however, I believe his position is still firm today. http://forum.johndensmore.com/lofiversion/index.php/t3572.html