Adwatch: iPod 'Dance Tonight'

by Leon Jaume, Executive creative director, WCRS, Marketing 18-Jul-07

And in at number 17 this week, it's Paul McCartney. Now there's a phrase you won't have heard for a while, but here he is in the Adwatch charts, jigging along with his mandolin on behalf of the iPod.

There is nothing particularly remarkable about the ad itself. It's
nicely done, with a bit of animation to distract from McCartney's
suit-with-Converse trainers look, and, depending on your view, the

ex-Beatle delivers a performance of engaging charm or smackable

ghastliness. The comment section on YouTube is divided on this matter.
McCartney's online fan base has a fanaticism similar to that of Cliff
Richard's terrifying followers, and criticism from non-believers is
unwelcome. My favourite rejoinder to a doubter concluded, resoundingly,
'He is a pioneer of rock... and you are a bag of shit.'

What no one mentioned is the extraordinary shift we are now witnessing
in the way celebrities and brands work off each other. In the old days
it was simple: famous people did ads for the money. They didn't like
doing it, but they loved the size of the cheque. The dilemma was
eventually solved by Hollywood stars - you avoid sullying your image at
home with anything as filthy as an ad, while queuing up to endorse
products abroad. Very discreet.

Yet recently we have seen three of the richest people on the planet -
Elton John, Madonna and McCartney - jump at the opportunity of doing
very visible ads for Royal Mail, Gap and Apple respectively. These stars
have a lot in common. All obsess endlessly over their standing in the
market and musical history. All have hit the zenith in their time; all
have wounded credibility (and sales) now. And, most importantly, all got
something from their ad that the likes of MTV are increasingly reluctant
to give them - the chance to perform.

The question is no longer what on earth billionaire McCartney is doing
in a commercial for the iPod, but why on earth Apple is giving pensioner
McCartney a leg-up by putting him in its ad. One can only assume things
have turned full circle and that McCartney is paying Apple.