When the White Stripes announced that the rumours they’d be shilling for Coca-Cola were true, there was a bit of an uproar over the matter. That’s nothing new; the commercial jingle sell-out line of discussion is older than dirt. What was different this time around was that the Stripes were going to write a brand new song specifically for the campaign, thus sidestepping neatly their professed policy of never selling off one of their released songs for an ad. This isn’t the first time an artist has written a song specifically for an advertiser, either, but lately there’s been a lot more emphasis on finding just the right obscure indie track to put in your commercials—a Madison Avenue game of who’s got the biggest, coolest record collection. And if there’s one thing Madison Avenue wants to be all about, it’s knowing what’s cool.
Jim Guthrie isn’t the White Stripes; he will probably never be on Coke’s radar, let alone be asked to offer up a custom song for a grand payoff. But if you’re Canadian and watch television, you’ve already heard the song he’s written specifically for an ad campaign: “Hands In My Pocket” is the sprightly little tune playing in the Capital One commercials featuring men in business suits with—you guessed it—hands in the pockets of people without Capital One credit cards. Most commercials are either an excuse to associate another hip song with your brand identity (hello Mitsubishi) or else just in need of generic background music (remember the Civic commercial with M.I.A.’s “Galang”? The music’s been replaced recently with a generic rock track). If you didn’t know that one half of Royal City was also the man behind this song, though, the Capital One commercial would probably fly right past you; like a finely tuned movie soundtrack, you just don’t notice the music as an entity in its own right. It’s just a spectacularly well executed jingle.
And a bit more besides. Guthrie, in his infinite wisdom, didn’t tailor “Hands In My Pocket” too specifically to the commercial. He wrote tightly to the ad’s concept, of course, but not to the ad’s running time. The full-length result, also available on his website, is a better than average throwaway track that you can feel free to enjoy when you’re far away from any television set. It’s also a nice calling card for Guthrie, who might find some new fans thanks to the gambit. After all, it is one of the catchiest tunes playing on Canadian television today.
26 Responses
where were you, like, three weeks ago when i was searching like a maniac for this song? huh?? it seems a lot of ppl are finding this song catchy. unfortunately, they also have no clue whose tune it is. not ’til we tell them guthrie is the genius behind it, of course. (btw, the mp3 on his site seems to be down now, so you’re just about the only one w/ the song up. i managed to find it on limewire though.)
christina, February 7th, 2006 at 11:24 pmIt is amazing how they manage to find “just the right song” to be cool. Those marketing directors are genius.
P.S.
Matt Blalock, February 8th, 2006 at 6:03 pmI am in college to become a marketing director.
Uh, heh. I should’ve been clearer: Guthrie wrote “Hands In My Pocket” specifically for Capital One. I’ve tried to clarify in the main article as well.
Wesley, February 8th, 2006 at 6:43 pmThank you so much for this. haha…i’ve been looking for it like crazy.
Lisa, February 11th, 2006 at 4:13 pmVery nice song. Now I will have to watch more TV to catch the ad.
Max, February 13th, 2006 at 10:33 amI LOVE THIS SONG
Sara, February 20th, 2006 at 9:42 pmhahahahahha
sammie, February 25th, 2006 at 9:50 amI LOVE THAT DONG, HANDS IN MY POCKETS HANDS, IN MY POCKETS HANDS, IN MY POCKETS!!! AT SCHOOL MY FRIENDS AND I IMMITATE THAT COMMERCIAL
Kiara, February 25th, 2006 at 11:44 amWHERE can i find the darn video for this commercial (you know the capital one commercial)??? ive looked everywhere
Josh, March 2nd, 2006 at 11:26 amCooooooooooooooooooooool
Colin, March 15th, 2006 at 2:36 pmI downloaded this song onto my Ipod and play it at work. Everytime this song plays everyone, workers and customers alike smile and say how much they love this song. I know this song has really caught my ears and eyee on Jim.
Jayson, March 20th, 2006 at 6:48 pmThis song is addicting, the commerical makes me laugh every time. Does anyone have any ideas where I could find the Capital One Video somewhere on the internet?
Kristy, April 17th, 2006 at 8:30 pmYou can download the video and the song on Capital One’s website. Just click on the media icon on the bottom of the capitalone.ca site.
Mary, April 24th, 2006 at 11:09 amBrilliant! Even my 85-year-old mother is enchanted by the song and its commercial.
Marie, May 17th, 2006 at 9:03 amohmygosh.. i respect any guy who writes a song about putting hands in pockets.. I HEART HANDS IN POCJETS!! YAY!!!
Julzz, May 21st, 2006 at 11:34 pmhahha.. me and my bestest friend walk up to random ppl and put are hands in there pockets at school and start singing that song.. i downloaded on my mp3 and all my friends try to take it form me to listen to it lol..
Julzz.. [again], May 21st, 2006 at 11:36 pmI read the comments on this page and thought, WTF?
I absolutely hate this song. I have rashes on both my elbows from diving for the remote control to mute the TV when this terrible jingle starts playing.
Every comment above mine loves this jingle. Methinks someone is just padding their resume to get more business (look at the names, they’re all so cutsie and fake sounding).
I went to Guthrie’s site, and it’s as annoying to navigate as his song is to listen to. What’s with this guy? Does he like bugging people?
I hate this song with the white hot heat of a million suns, and I now hate Capital One for using this song. Everyone that I know also hates it. All I have to say is, “What commercial do you hate the most?” and without fail the response is “That stupid ‘Hands in my Pocket’ song”.
If you kiddies like having this song’s banal, repetitive, tuneless melody thwacking away inside your skulls, who am I to stop you from downloading it and playing it on your iPods (yeah, right…only a marketing guy could come up with that lame testimonial) then go for it. Just take it off the TV so the rest of us innocent bystanders don’t have to listen to it.
I reeallly, reeallly hope you post my comment
Michael Corleone, May 26th, 2006 at 9:28 pmOh, don’t worry, I’m not into censorship. Unless you’re peddling prescription drugs. Then I’m gonna have to kill you.
I will agree with you regarding his site. Pretty freakin’ annoying.
Wesley, May 26th, 2006 at 10:47 pmThis song is an I addiction. once I hear it I cannot get it out of my head for the rest of the day. but I absolutely love it, where can I get an mp3 for this song soo I can make it my ringer?
itchy, June 3rd, 2006 at 7:10 pmThis song sucks…it’s for couchies
Daven, June 14th, 2006 at 8:13 amI can’t stand these commercials, & I totally understand Michael’s comment about rashes on the elbows from diving for the remote. The song gets in your head & won’t go away.
I don’t totally blame Guthrie, though, for my abhorrence of these commercials. There’s something about them that’s just a little perverse. The jingle only exacerbates it.
I truly can’t understand why people love this tune as it is. There’s nothing to it. My husband & I do use the jingle tune to make up all sorts of other funny life songs, so it has some comedic value to us. And the “Knee in my Package” parody is great! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri16l_q-bL8)
The commercial sticks, & we always remember what product they’re selling. That, despite my utter disdain of the commercials, is successful marketing.
Christine, June 23rd, 2006 at 12:35 pmOMFG, I can’t believe anyone would actually admit to liking that sonic abomination. Terrorists could use that song as a weapon, playing it over giant loudspeakers and causing mass suicides of those unfortunate enough not to have an iPod (or hearing impairment).
I can’t imagine how CapitalOne’s use of such a loathsome tune could equate to smart marketing, since upon even seeing CapitalOne’s logo, my guts start churning because that idiotic song starts to play in my head. Does this suggest I for one will never be a consumer of any of their products? Duh!!!
Tonight, I was watching a cool show on Discovery Channel, but opted for other programming when CapitalOne’s annoying propaganda intruded (you just know it’s gonna haunt you every commercial break). So, the “successful marketing” campaign not only drove me away (forever) from the product being sold, but prompted me to tune out the station completely (good for ratings?).
If smart marketing means annoying the shit out of people, then CapitalOne has succeeded in spades. The song sucks, the singers can’t sing, and if Guthrie’s making anything over minimum wage, he’s overpaid.
John, July 13th, 2006 at 12:53 amOh, and just a note to Jayson……..if you brought that tripe to my workplace and forced me to listen to it, you’d no longer need a belt clip for your iPod
John, July 13th, 2006 at 1:07 amMaybe it’s because I don’t watch that much television or something, but obviously there’s a backlash I’m not aware of!
Wesley, July 13th, 2006 at 6:30 pmthat is the kewlest song ever, reminds me of someone…..
melanie, November 1st, 2007 at 6:04 pmKnee in my Package was performed by Canadian Icon Rick Mercer, who also makes fun of other anoying adds (like the grey power add or Mc Cains, or Windows). To see more clips from his show go to http://www.cbc.ca/mercerreport/
moo cow, June 18th, 2008 at 10:17 am