It’s funny, but I find a lot of my new music from TV commercials. Unfortunately, it takes some investigating to figure out who wrote what music because the music isn’t always publicized. Some companies, like VW, have a place on their web site dedicated to this type of info. Others, like Mitsubishi don’t mention their commercials at all. Of course, VW has already released a compilation CD of some of their commercial music. So, they might be the exception rather than a norm.
I’ve found some good resources on matching music to commercials, though. Here they are:
- Clipland
- Commercial Breaks and Beats: UK Television Advert Music Database
As a result, I’ve found out that the cool VW commercial they’re showing on the Loews commercial reel has music by ELO called Mr. Blue Sky.
Now, who owns an ELO CD anymore?
There are some cool finds buried in there, and it’s a lot of fun to figure this stuff out.
On another note, I’ve noticed that I find “new” music from the companies focused on younger consumers. Like VW, or the Mitsubishi Montero commercial (which turned me on to telepopmusik). On the other hand, companies like Lexus (which used a Chemical Brothers track on one of their recent commercials) tend to focus on established artists, even if it’s electronica or some alternative style. I realize this is probably a function of their advertising agency and probably by design, anyway, but I just thought it was interesting.
Update: Feel free to ask questions in the comments below. Regular readers are happy to answer, as am I.





August 8th, 2007 at 7:38 PM
Hi Juliet. You can listen to it here:
http://www.myspace.com/thehussys
August 8th, 2007 at 7:39 PM
Hi Julie. You can listen to it here:
http://www.myspace.com/thehussys
August 9th, 2007 at 2:36 AM
i dont know the name or who sings this song and the only lyrics i know arent really english so i dont know how to search for it. Its goes bow wit da bow di dang di dang di digity diggity or somehthing like that. its in a commercial now and its been in a couple of movies, please help
August 9th, 2007 at 12:11 PM
Can you please tell me who is the artist & song in Commercial a few years ago (May have been a bank commercial)? It sounds like a Brazilian soft Jazzy female song. The female singer scats, but does not sing actual words. You can often hear the song played in department stores too. The music is typical of Brazil. Originally I thought that it was done by the group Thievery Corporation, but it’s not. It’s something like “Ah ya ya ya ya ya…oooooh oooh ooh”
August 9th, 2007 at 4:08 PM
Hello again Savvy music people. I’m still hoping to find out the artist & song from the new Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal commercial where the girl is running after her nose & ends up in a boy’s kitchen while he’s eating his Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. The background song starts off with a very nice rock guitar tune.I saw it on the Nickelodeon & the Nicktoons network channels. Anybody? Sujal? Logan? Anybody?
August 9th, 2007 at 9:43 PM
Hey everyone, whats the name of the song in a cell phone commercial that sounds like a girl singing, and all u can hear is the bass and the girl singing laaaa lalala lalala lala laaaa laaa i wanna link or something to watch the commercial again or hear the song!
thanks
August 9th, 2007 at 10:03 PM
What is the music in the new Apple iMac (brushed aluminum) ad?
August 9th, 2007 at 10:10 PM
OK. For the iMac ad. It’s “Exodus Honey” by Honeycut.
August 10th, 2007 at 11:25 AM
what is the the song in AMC’s Long Live Cool commercial?
August 10th, 2007 at 12:44 PM
What is the song they play on AMC’s Long Live Cool commercial?
August 10th, 2007 at 6:51 PM
Folk Implosion Natural One
August 10th, 2007 at 6:53 PM
to Joyce, number 1037, the song is called ‘the thanks i get’ by Wilco. the part in the commercial is towards the end of it.
August 10th, 2007 at 10:42 PM
To Nancy number 1074: the song is called “You Always Get What You Want” by ATOMICTOM, according to http://www.amctv.com
August 10th, 2007 at 11:03 PM
I WOULD LIKE TO FIND OUT THE ARTIST WHO DOES OVER THE RAINBOW IN THE RICE KRISIPES (kellogg) commercial. thanks
August 11th, 2007 at 9:46 AM
Post # 1035-I think The Simpsons song is “do you know the way to san jose” by Dione Warwick.
I was just curious…what is the original song that the new “outback steakhouse” tune is borrowed from? “lets go outback tonight”
did anyone find out what song is in the dell inspiron commercial?
August 11th, 2007 at 9:57 AM
#1035 ..disregard previous comment. I was wrong. “Spanish Flea” is a real song from the 1960s. The more popular versuion without lyrics is a herb albert cover that was made afterwards
August 11th, 2007 at 3:09 PM
what is that song from this link?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zTRcW-FGBE
August 11th, 2007 at 3:44 PM
[...] FatMixx.com I found just was I was looking for: 950. socalrider Says:July 13th, 2007 at 1:10 [...]
August 11th, 2007 at 4:11 PM
To Brenda Bain: The late Israel Kamakawiwo’ole performs that version for the Rice Krispies ad.
August 11th, 2007 at 4:15 PM
To glamour_knight: A recent inspiron ad features
“The W.A.N.D.” by The Flaming Lips
August 11th, 2007 at 4:22 PM
To glamour_knight: Regarding the Outback Steakhouse ad, the tune is based on “Wraith Pinned To The Mist And Other Games” by Of Montreal.
August 11th, 2007 at 6:13 PM
Does anyone know who sings the song in the new Del inspiton commercial???
August 11th, 2007 at 6:33 PM
too many comments–cant read through all of them to find the answer i seek. this log is getting to be too successful for its own good. must have search capabilities to survive.
August 11th, 2007 at 7:02 PM
sorry, i meant to say Del inspiRon commercial
August 11th, 2007 at 7:11 PM
hey, you are right about outback steakhouse song. I knew i heard it before. Does anyone know what is the tgifridays song “something’s getting me started” ?
August 11th, 2007 at 7:15 PM
To Thatguy: Is the ad newer than the one mentioned in #1085? If so, do you have anything on the song to include lyrics, genre, gender, etc? Thanks.
August 11th, 2007 at 7:25 PM
To logan: Once i see the commercial again i’ll get back to you about the lyrics, but the voice in the song is a man and the commercial is pretty new. I just saw it today, but i don’t know when it was first shown. Probably sometimes within the last month.
August 11th, 2007 at 9:12 PM
To glamour_knight: The tgi friday ad is “Something’s Got Me Started” by Swingfly.
August 11th, 2007 at 9:59 PM
To glamour_knight: There’s another Dell ad (not the inspiron) which features “Watch Us Work It” by Devo. That one?
August 12th, 2007 at 4:37 PM
Hi,
I just saw a Mercury Mountaineer (vehicle) ad on MBC2… I’d really appreciate if anyone could tell me who was the artist and what is the song’s name used in the ad.
thanx!
August 12th, 2007 at 6:55 PM
I am trying to figure out a song from some commercial that talks about “it’s written in the stars” or something close to that. The family in the car/SUV/truck are looking at stars through a sunroof? Any ideas?!? Thanks!
August 12th, 2007 at 7:09 PM
To aQuarian: A commonly used song for the Mercury line has been “Nth Degree” by Morningwood. Nice little bouncy tune. Is that it or is there something newer?
August 12th, 2007 at 7:48 PM
To aQuarian: Having just researched MBC2, I see that it’s Hq’d in the UAE and broadcasting throughout the Mid-East. Based on that, I doubt if the song I mentioned earlier is the one in question.
August 12th, 2007 at 9:05 PM
I’m looking for the song from the “Crest White Commercial”, its an instrumental song. Would really appreciate it.
August 12th, 2007 at 10:47 PM
glamour_knight (posts 1079,1080): Thank you so much for responding, but I think my wording was a little misleading. He does sing over Spanish Flea, but the song I am curious about is heard a few scenes earlier, where he is humming and eating cheetos or something (if that even helps). I think it was used in a TaB or other cola commercial in the 70s/80s too, but I’m not sure and I can’t place it exactly. Thanks though!… ah TaB, you’re such a mindsticker.
August 12th, 2007 at 11:00 PM
To Adam (post 1067): I think the song you’re looking for is called “Cobrastyle” by Teddybears ft. Mad Cobra… or something ridiculously non-sensical like that.
August 12th, 2007 at 11:08 PM
Does anyone know the female vocalist from the latest Old Navy commercial? It’s the one with the three new jean styles…sounds a bit like Aretha Franklin…
August 13th, 2007 at 2:12 PM
Hello Sarah Golden, the title & artist from the Old Navy commercial is Blue Alert by Madeleine Peyroux.
August 13th, 2007 at 2:20 PM
Hello again, who sings in the new Target commercial where the room changes into a new dorm with baby blue walls & white clouds with accessories for back to school?
August 13th, 2007 at 11:28 PM
Hello,
Does anyone know the techno song that Volvo used in their 1997 or 1998 commericals for the Volvo C30? The announcer talks about how Germans finally won a car award. I heard it when A&E were showing their first 3 part series on Horatio Hornblower. I can’t find it anywhere. Thanks so much for the help.
James
August 13th, 2007 at 11:55 PM
Dell Inspiron commercial is “W.A.N.D.” by the Flaming Lips
August 14th, 2007 at 1:17 AM
I don’t have any requests because everyone managed to answer all the questions I had…this site is too awesome. Keep it up guys.
August 14th, 2007 at 11:16 AM
does anyone know the name of the song from the new old navy commercial. there are 3 girls in it. the song has a 30’s kind of vibe
August 14th, 2007 at 1:27 PM
the old navy song is called blue alert by madeleine peyroux
August 15th, 2007 at 2:58 PM
Hiya, can anyone please tell me the title & artist of this song that I heard on Muzak? A young woman sings this cutesy, folksy song. Here are the words:
“Goodbye…across the water…no need for you to wave…I’m catching my own now cause I’m not coming by…climb into the sky, I’m not gonna fly… don’t leave the key underneath the mat for me cause I’m not coming back around here…toot toot toot toot, coming back around here… hopping that train…”
August 15th, 2007 at 3:33 PM
To Ottenbacher: The Muzak song is “Goodbye” by The Postmarks. Listen here: http://www.myspace.com/thepostmarks
August 15th, 2007 at 7:49 PM
Here’s an old one and I’m sorry if it’s a repeat, but I’m looking for the old LensCrafters jingle. It aired for a while and I couldn’t get it outta my head.
August 15th, 2007 at 8:11 PM
can anyone tell me the name of the song in the newest cadillac commercial?
August 15th, 2007 at 9:09 PM
HERE’S A LITTLE SECRET I FOUND OUT BY ACCIDENT. iF YOUR TV HAS CLOSED CAPTION OPTION, TURN THAT ON. USUALLY WHEN THE COMMERCIAL COMES ON, IT WILL PRINT THE NAME OF THE SONG IN PARENTHESIS.
August 15th, 2007 at 9:33 PM
does anyone know who does the song “wicked ways” on the Nip n Tuck commercial..it’s not chris Isaac and I cant find it anywhere