DJ
Majik of Majik Member
Posts: 475
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Post by DJ on Sept 13, 2002 4:18:26 GMT -5
I don't know if anyone else has seen this, but I was watching a TV programme last night that features unusual or interesting clips of TV adverts from around the world, when the sound of 'Where do the children play?' came on.
The whole ad used the song as the soundtrack, and was beautifully shot and directed, with a lot of atmosphere, and the words and message worked excellently together.
This is how it went..
The song intro begins as we see a small boy sitting at one end of a large settee in what looks like a once grand and elegant old house, which is now dirty and neglected.
The first caption comes on...
'THIS IS IVAN!'
Then another boy appears at the doorway...
'THIS IS STEFAN!'
He hesitates to come in....
'THEY HAVE NEVER MET! THERE IS WAR & HATRED BETWEEN THEIR COUNTRIES'
Stefan enters the room and sits at the far end of the settee from Ivan, and they look at each other uneasily.
'WATCH!' says the next caption.
Ivan reachs down behind the back of the cushion and finds a small toy aeroplane, and plays with it for a while. He sees Stefan watching and offers him the the toy, as they say something to each other in their own languages.
They both smile and soon they're playing together, running round and jumping up and down on the settee.
'WHAT HAPPENED HERE?'
'FIRST THEY TALKED'
Both children are now laughing together...
'KEEP IN TOUCH!' says the final caption.
TELECOM-NEW ZEALAND
I thought this was a lovely advert, and used Cat's song very well, certainly more thoughtfully and sympathetically used than 'I love my dog' for a dog food ad I once saw.
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sue
Oh Very Young
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Post by sue on Sept 13, 2002 4:49:59 GMT -5
You certainly have a way with words, DJ. You conjured up such a wonderful image with your description. Nice to see CS's songs used for postive advertising.
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Post by Dusty_Day on Sept 13, 2002 5:13:58 GMT -5
Hi DJ,
Thanks for the reminder. Telecom here in New Zealand has used another Cat Stevens's song in their adverts. I can't describe it in as much detail as you have DJ as it's been a couple of years since these adverts have screened here.
They used Father & Son as the soundtrack & it showed clips of a father & son during the son's growing up like:-
The dad holding his small baby son,
The son's first steps
First day at school
Playing on a beach
Father proudly watching his son play sports & fishing & the like
Son's wedding
Son's first child
Caption at the end, GIVE DAD A RING ON FATHERS DAY
TELECOM NEW ZEALAND
It was very touching & again Cat's music fitted the bill perfectly for the occasion.
Linda
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Post by Vivian on Sept 13, 2002 6:31:33 GMT -5
WOW! These are truly BEAUTIFUL! Thanks so much of such LOVELY REMINDERS of how WONDERFUL Cat's music truly is!
Peace,Vivian
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Post by Vivian on Sept 13, 2002 13:20:35 GMT -5
Yes, Lady D! I remember that one! I JUST LOVE IT!
Peace,Vivian
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DJ
Majik of Majik Member
Posts: 475
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Post by DJ on Sept 13, 2002 15:41:24 GMT -5
Lady D,
It isn't so much the treatment or direction of the 'I love my dog' ad, as the fact of Cat's song being used to sell a product as mundane as dog food. I just felt the Telecom ad had deeper thoughts behind it, and , like Cat Stevens, wasn't afraid to confront a more thoughtful issue.
Dusty Day,
The 'Father & son' ad sounds to have been done with respect and taste too. Thanks for sharing it with us. It's great too to see some fans from New Zealand joining in on the message boards.
Do you think the adverts re-generated more interest in Cat Stevens in your country?
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Post by Dusty_Day on Sept 14, 2002 3:37:31 GMT -5
Hi DJ, I believe the ads both re-generated & generated interest in Cat Stevens. My young nieces & nephews knew I liked the music of C Stevens but that's all. After the ads were shown on the Tele, I got phone calls from them saying that they had seen the ads. For them to have done that, they must have at first noticed the songs playing in the background & then asked who the singer was. When told, they must have thought "Oh that's the bloke that Auntie Linda likes". One of my nephews (now aged 15) got me to tape some of the CD's. He now enjoys the music, as do some of his friends. A lot of my friends got their Cat LP's from out of the dim dark recess's of their storage & played them again. Actually, there has been another Cat song used in the ads. This was about 5 years ago & it was for some sort of air freshener/Pot pour type of thing (Sorry the memory is a bit hazy now) 'Morning Has Broken' was being played & on screen was a sort of Disney-like cartoon of flying birds swooping in a forest, with deer & butterflies, bees etc. landing & taking off from flowers. All very surreal. It finished with the words on the screen:- XXXXX (read product name) {bugger, I wish I could remember what the product was called  } . . . . . . what the world used to smell like before we all went mad. A very pretty, serene ad. BTW, does he have to give his permission for his music to be used in ads? Linda |
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Post by Dusty_Day on Sept 14, 2002 3:44:24 GMT -5
Gosh, how did I get that flower smiley?
LadyD, where is the dog food ad on this site?
Linda
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Post by Dusty_Day on Sept 14, 2002 3:45:40 GMT -5
I got it again LOL ;D
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Post by 70sCat on Sept 14, 2002 9:22:20 GMT -5
Geez you guys have all the luck!
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sue
Oh Very Young
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Post by sue on Sept 14, 2002 9:25:23 GMT -5
The U.S. had a SeaWorld commercial a while back that had The Wind as the music bed. That was fun to hear.
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Chris
Oh Very Young
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Post by Chris on Sept 14, 2002 10:16:23 GMT -5
DJ, the 'Where do the Children Play' advert sounds 'touching' as you mentioned, and within the context of the song, as does the Father and Son advertizement.
I also seem to remember there was a Cancer commercial over there that used a Cat song as the backdrop of the commercial.
It sounds like the commercial DJ spoke of, is something that would be close to Yusufs heart, and lets the song speak for it self. I'd much rather see Cats songs in this type of commercial than to see them advertising an out-door clothing line (Timberline), but it is exciting just to hear his music on the TV when you least expect it.
Thanks DJ for describing it to us.
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DJ
Majik of Majik Member
Posts: 475
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Post by DJ on Sept 14, 2002 15:41:52 GMT -5
Lady D,
I think I may still have the 'Where do the children play' ad on tape, so, if I can, I'll try to save it to disc and send it on to Christine.
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DJ
Majik of Majik Member
Posts: 475
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Post by DJ on Sept 15, 2002 3:13:04 GMT -5
Lady D, I think when Linda said she'd ..'got it again', she was refering to the smiley that pops up automatically when she mentions flower... there it is again! LOL Linda, You'll find a lot of these smileys appearing , which replace certain words you may use. Particularly if you use any rude words... although Christine hadn't allowed for the very New Zealand and Australian use of 'bugger' as an exclamation, or you might have found another little smiley there too.  It's great that those ads got so much interest in Cat's music going again. The issue of whether Yusuf has to give his permission for his songs to be used, I'm not sure. It depends whether he has sole publishing rights to his back catalogue or not. With 'I love my dog' it could possibly be that the song publishers may have sole rights to his very earliest work, as a lot of 60's songwriters new to the music business got ripped off by signing away the rights to their own songs. Adverts are such lucrative business for publishers, who don't care much about the integrity of the artist, and will use their songs any way they can, as a commodity to sell other ones. Quite often an artist only has rights to veto advertisers using their original recording, so all the advertisers do is re-record the song using a sound-alike, and get around the problem that way. Even Paul McCartney doesn't own the publishing rights to the songs he wrote in The Beatles, it was Michael Jackson who bought them, after Paul advised him to invest his profits for the 'Thriller' album, and out-bid Paul for his own songs. I think he has now sold them on to Sony. I seem to recall seeing 'Revolution' used for a Nike ad recently. Christine, You were right on the money when you said if Yusuf's songs are going to be used for ads at all, that at least it's better if they reflect his concerns or motives in a more sympathetic way than just being used like a jingle. |
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Post by Vivian on Sept 15, 2002 5:51:49 GMT -5
Lady D, I think when Linda said she'd ..'got it again', she was refering to the smiley that pops up automatically when she mentions flower... there it is again! LOL Linda, You'll find a lot of these smileys appearing , which replace certain words you may use. Particularly if you use any rude words... although Christine hadn't allowed for the very New Zealand and Australian use of 'bugger' as an exclamation, or you might have found another little smiley there too. It's great that those ads got so much interest in Cat's music going again. The issue of whether Yusuf has to give his permission for his songs to be used, I'm not sure. It depends whether he has sole publishing rights to his back catalogue or not. With 'I love my dog' it could possibly be that the song publishers may have sole rights to his very earliest work, as a lot of 60's songwriters new to the music business got ripped off by signing away the rights to their own songs. Adverts are such lucrative business for publishers, who don't care much about the integrity of the artist, and will use their songs any way they can, as a commodity to sell other ones. Quite often an artist only has rights to veto advertisers using their original recording, so all the advertisers do is re-record the song using a sound-alike, and get around the problem that way. Even Paul McCartney doesn't own the publishing rights to the songs he wrote in The Beatles, it was Michael Jackson who bought them, after Paul advised him to invest his profits for the 'Thriller' album, and out-bid Paul for his own songs. I think he has now sold them on to Sony. I seem to recall seeing 'Revolution' used for a Nike ad recently. Christine, You were right on the money when you said if Yusuf's songs are going to be used for ads at all, that at least it's better if they reflect his concerns or motives in a more sympathetic way than just being used like a jingle. Regarding whether Yusuf needs to give his permission in order for his songs to be used in certain projects! I think he does! I remember about 10 years ago, or so, someone wanted to use FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST in a jeans comercial, and Yusuf refused to give his permission! I believe they ended up using the ROD STEWARD version, because of this! And also, didn't Yusuf refuse to give his permission for a song to be used in the movie, MOULON ROUGE! I guess, Yusuf DOES own all publishing rights! This is a GOOD THING! I remember from the BEHIND THE MUSIC, Yusuf was saying how he was ALWAYS protective of himself and never sold out! VERY WIZE INDEED!! I guess, Yusuf will give permission depending on the subject matter of the projects! It prooves that he is a man of integrity, thats for sure! Peace,Vivian |
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DJ
Majik of Majik Member
Posts: 475
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Post by DJ on Sept 15, 2002 14:43:32 GMT -5
Vivian,
Thanks for that information, I sincerely hope it's true. Yusuf must have been a very sussed guy for the 60's to keep those rights. I'm glad that's the case and he has that control over what he created.
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Post by Dusty_Day on Sept 15, 2002 19:37:05 GMT -5
Hi DJ, Yes, that is what I meant. How do you know what 'words' are going to produce a smiley? I know I can click on already designated smile symbols. You are right about the word 'bugger' here. I was born in London & have lived in New Zealand for 26 years. When I first came here I was HORRIFIED by the constant use of that word. Now I know that the Kiwi's & Aussie's use it in many ways from a matey-type term of endearment to the equivalent of the English "Blast". My dear 'ol mum came to live in NZ 9 years ago & for about 2 years I ran the risk of getting "a clip around the ear" if I ever said the word in her presence! Now she uses it. ;D LadyD I don't think I'll get the opportunity to record the telecom ads here in NZ because the one DJ mentioned & the Father & Son one were aired here about 2-3 years ago. Father's day has just passed in NZ & telecom didn't resurrect it.  Linda (who is never going to be able to type on this site the noun depicting the reproductive organ in a plant containing one or more pistils or stamens or both and usually a corolla) |
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Post by Vivian on Sept 16, 2002 7:56:42 GMT -5
Vivian, Thanks for that information, I sincerely hope it's true. Yusuf must have been a very sussed guy for the 60's to keep those rights. I'm glad that's the case and he has that control over what he created. I am pretty sure that's true, DJ! And I am SO GLAD that he was sharp on his toes! I mean, I really like Paul McCartney, but look at what happened! He made ONE MISTAKE one day, and years later, he lost those rights to Michael Jackson! Peace,Vivian |
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DJ
Majik of Majik Member
Posts: 475
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Post by DJ on Sept 16, 2002 19:21:51 GMT -5
Dusty day
The thing with the smileys is a bit difficult, as I couldn't tell you which words they are without them being turned into a smiley. You could always check though how your message will be displayed before posting it by clicking on the preview button below, you'll see then if any words have been changed. The funniest one I remember was when George tried to mention the famous singer of 'With a little help from my friends', 'Delta lady' and 'You can keep your hat ' the one and only Joe Cocker, and got something like Joe ::)er...
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DJ
Majik of Majik Member
Posts: 475
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Post by DJ on Oct 25, 2002 12:08:12 GMT -5
Hi DJ, Thanks for the reminder. Telecom here in New Zealand has used another Cat Stevens's song in their adverts. I can't describe it in as much detail as you have DJ as it's been a couple of years since these adverts have screened here. They used Father & Son as the soundtrack & it showed clips of a father & son during the son's growing up like:- The dad holding his small baby son, The son's first steps First day at school Playing on a beach Father proudly watching his son play sports & fishing & the like Son's wedding Son's first child Caption at the end, GIVE DAD A RING ON FATHERS DAY TELECOM NEW ZEALAND It was very touching & again Cat's music fitted the bill perfectly for the occasion. Linda Linda, The same programme that showed the 'Where do the children play' ad, showed the 'Father & son' one you mentioned on the show last night. Luckily I was taping it, and I also found the first ad on tape too, so if I can I'm going to see if I can save them both as jpeg's and send them to Christine, to see if she would like to add them to the site. They certainly are both beautifully made adverts. |
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