Weezer: Band Or Brand Puppet?
The dance between music and advertising is long, complex and – in a post-Napster era of shifting income streams – important. New careers have been launched and old ones revitalized by a single song in a commercial. Some, like OK Go have used money from brands to break free of the label system and launch new projects. Then there's Weezer…
Most indie rock bands live and die by their hipness score. Add 10 points for an Apple commercial. Subtract 6 points after a private gig for the son a Lybian dictator. Weezer seemingly couldn't care less and has embraced the shill. Remember the Weezer Snuggie and the State Farm song?
Weezer is often shielded from criticism by their quirky humor. But this time, the band wrote a 'serious' original song specifically designed to hype three less than cutting edge brands: IZOD shirts, the IndyCar series and Verizon. And in the spot, without the cover of humor, Weezer looks a bit out of place. You be the judge:
Remember Weezer’s “Yahoo! Corporate Sellout Tour” from 2001?
Yeah.. I think they embraced commercialization a while ago.
I live in a world where Weezer hasn’t made an album since 1997, so… this article doesn’t even exist. I just see a blank rectangle surrounded by internet ads
This is definitely far from being news.