You can sell anything on TV with puppies and ukuleles...

kendra

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Is it just me or does EVERY commercial on television use ukulele music lately? It is almost to the point of ridiculousness. The other day I was vegging out in front of the TV (when I should have been playing uke, frankly) and I noticed 4 commercials in a three minute period that had ukuleles in the music bed. One of these commercials had, of course, the inevitable Train song that has come to be a requirement in television promos everywhere. They were selling cars, blackberries, Tomato juice, and toilet paper.

It's been a long standing joke with my husband and I that you can sell anything on TV with puppies. As long as there's a puppy in the commercial, the item will sell. Well, I think the same can now be said of ukes. There's a toilet paper commercial now that utilizes BOTH puppies and ukulele and you better believe that's the brand I buy.

Anybody else notice this trend? i mean, I'm starting to keep track of the rare number of commercials WITHOUT ukulele music.
 
Oh, god help us, no!...

..in '12, we'll be seeing Sarah Palin playin' a 'uke while holding a puppy!

:wtf:
 
..in '12, we'll be seeing Sarah Palin playin' a 'uke while holding a puppy!

Well, we can substitute any "name the celeb - or politician" into that thought and make folks cringe. Ask a NASCAR fan what brands they use and you will know who the root for on Sundays. Of course, one brand is often as good as another, so if a guy uses a uke to attract attention, maybe I'll go that way...cars with blackberries and tomato juice you say??

As an aside, I was in Alaska a few weeks ago and came away with this great shot of me playing a uke in front of the Mendenhall Glacier, near Juneau. Anything is possible, that doesn't make it right or wrong, just possible.
 

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Yup, it seems of the success of Brother Iz uke playing, it is the hottest trends of advertising in branding....seem to catch the audiences...
 
I know what you mean - I used to point out the uke background music in commercials, but now I don't even bother. :D It's a good marketing technique though, it makes you feel happy, you know?
 
I know what you mean - I used to point out the uke background music in commercials, but now I don't even bother. :D It's a good marketing technique though, it makes you feel happy, you know?

That's exactly what the case is. Ukuleles=happy people / Happy people spend more than unhappy people (except for retail therapy patients, maybe, but they're not spending money on tooth paste. It used to be whistling permeating commercials, the idea being people who whistle are happy, until some ad exec pointed out that whistling=irritating to the listener! Then some agency must have polled a focus group on what the happiest music in the world is and boom. Bring on the ukes!

:nana:
 
Bringing this thread back because of a timely article I just read in Entertainment Weekly about the over use of "Hey Soul Sister" in advertising. http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/10/08/hey-soul-sister-advertising/

The writers are calling for an end to the use of this song.

It mentions the Jason Mraz song too. I just hope the uke doesn't start to get an even worse rap because of it's current overuse in ad music.
 
I like the resurgence of the uke in the public eye. People want to hear the ukulele and I can play. Our skills our in demand!
 
I see nothing wrong with ukuleles and puppies. Most people don't even know it's ukulele music.

If I don't like stuff I just don't pay attention.
 
I want less Uke and puppies in ads and more monkeys. Who's with me?
 
Because of train all these kids at my school are going out and buying ukes, nothing fancy most of them are getting ukes based on the color. Its become such a event in the area I live that a good friend of mine who works at a music store was asking me why people were buying them. I laughed and said it was a phase. Dont worry next month it will be something like cord pants or something...
 
Just imagine what they could sell if they could have puppies playing ukes!!
 
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