Musician’s Notebook

LONDON (Billboard) - Never mind the bullocks. There’s more money in advertising.

Johnny Rotten (and some stampeding cows) have started a moooo-ve (had so say that. Sorry …) toward punk advertising in the UK.

The Sex Pistols frontman, now known as John Lydon, stars in popular U.K. TV commercials for the butter brand Country Life. Dressed like a country gentleman, the one-time rebel is seen watching English folk dancers, running from cows and yelling, “It’s not about Great Britain — it’s about great butter!”

On other UK channels, punk forefather Iggy Pop stars in ads for the online car insurance brand Swiftcover in which the shirtless Stooges frontman declares: “You think I’m selling car insurance? I’m not — I’m selling time!”

But he is selling car insurance — and lots of it! Swiftcover says its first-quarter sales soared 31 percent over the same period last year, thanks to the ad.
And Lydon has heated up butter sales — the ad brought an 85 percent increase in sales of its “spreadable” brands in fourth-quarter 2008!

Snowy Everitt, director of the London-based marketing agency Espionage, which specializes in putting brands and music together, explained what happened:
“Punk doesn’t mean what it meant 30 years ago. For most people in 2009, punk isn’t about music, it’s about attitude. Butter isn’t fun, edgy, sexy or cool — but, in times of economic crisis, advertisers need cut-through, and anything that gets you talked about is worth a punt.”

Swiftcover marketing director Tina Shortle agrees.
“We weren’t too worried if the target audience didn’t recognize Iggy as a celebrity,” she says. “We just wanted someone renowned for having fun and enjoying life.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if more brands looking to get cut-through go for rebellious figures,” Everitt added. “If it works, why not try it?”

Hey … wanna feel old? All ya gotta do is listen to the radio and hear the DJs decribe songs from your childhood — or, even worse, your adulthood — as “oldies.”

But, whatever scourge that might be against us “baby-boomers” is now hitting the younger generations: those who were school-agers back in the Seventies … and Eighties!
Right … radio stations that once featured songs from the formative years of rock now present songs from the ’70s and ’80s as (ta-daaaa!) OLDIES!

“Radio is an ever-changing thing, especially an oldies station,” said Jeff Gold, a 44-year-old DJ with Washington station WBIG, who’ known as “Goldy”.
“As the years go by, newer songs become oldies. That’s just the nature of the beast.”

But, if ya hail, hail rockin’ Chuck Berry and don’t stop for Fleetwood Mac, don’t worry; your music hasn’t lost its appeal! Y’see, this switch is due more to the advertisers. Y’see, ad reps go after the 25-to-54 age group. The first baby boomers are pushing 60.

“The only reason that our oldies stations have moved into the late ’60s and ’70s is the advertisers are telling us we have to do it in order for them to place business on our radio stations,” Marty Thompson, (director of oldies programming for Clear Channel, the nation’s largest station chain).

Now, there are two good things that are coming outta this trend: Buddy, Beatles, Byrds and beards are returning to AM radio, which played those songs when they were new. At least seven AM stations around the country are already trying this format. Cincinnati’s “real oldies” station uses the same call letters - WSAI - even some of the DJs from its days as a Top 40 station in 1969!

Another factor, according to Arbitron®, Rolling Stone™ mag and USA Today® newspapers, is that more young people are preferring the “formative years” rock (ie, the “boomer period” music) to much of today’s sounds. Rap/hip-hop is down 30% in sales, and the newer, electronic “alt” acts are moving into other ventures to keep themselves in the headlines since their album sales are starting to dwindle.

More on this a bit later, so stay tuned …