General Motors has traditionally lived and died by the excellence of its marketing — or at least it did before the 1977 Accord delivered a bunker-buster to its core business, anyway. Sometimes the marketing is regrettable, sometimes it’s brilliant. And sometimes it’s hilariously, and almost literally, tone deaf.
Precision can be the difference between winning and losing, or that element that separates ordinary from a cut above. GMC today unveiled “Precision,” an advertising campaign promoting the brand’s relentless attention to detail, a foundational value for the brand.
As the narrator speaks, shots of Affeldt pitching alternate with GMC vehicle details, such as the French stitching on a GMC leather seat and a grille’s sparkling meshwork.
The “Precision” ads will air throughout 2015, and the campaign will extend to digital, social and print advertising featuring every truck, crossover and SUV in the 2015 GMC lineup.
All three “Precision” ads open with an instrumental portion of The Who’s “Eminence Front,” chosen for its confident tone and technical, precise musical execution.
I saw this ad for the first time last night and it caused me to sit up and say, “Holy fuck, was that ‘Eminence Front’? Was that ‘Eminence Front’ used to sell GMC Denali-level products?” Since most of TTAC’s readers are too young to remember the song, here it is. It’s bad-ass, but there’s more to it than that:
Lyrics and music courtesy of noted kiddie-porn consumer researcher Pete Townsend, and here they are:
The sun shines, and people forget
The spray flies as the speedboat glides
And people forget, forget they’re hidingThe girls smile, and people forget
The snow packs as the skier tracks
People forget, forget they’re hidingBehind an eminence front
Eminence front, it’s a put on
It’s an eminence front
It’s an eminence front, it’s a put onAn eminence front
Eminence front, a put on, eminence front
It’s an eminence front
It’s an eminence front, it’s a put on
It’s a put on, it’s a put on, it’s a put onCome and join the party
Dress to kill
Won’t you come and join the party
Dress to kill, dress to killDrinks flow, people forget
That big wheel spins, the hair thins
People forget, forget they’re hidingThe news slows, people forget
The shares crash, hopes are dashed
People forget, forget they’re hidingBehind an eminence front
An eminence front, it’s a put on
It’s just an eminence front
An eminence front, it’s a put onAn eminence front
An eminence front, it’s a put on
Eminence front
It’s an eminence front, it’s a put on
It’s a put on, it’s a put on, it’s a put onCome and join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress toCome on join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to killDress yourself to kill
In short, it’s a song that criticizes the kind of people who buy a chrome-grilled GMC truck over a Chevrolet. What an idea! Make a series of ads for your gussied-up versions of trucks, trucks that, in Denali trim, literally have an eminence front bolted onto the front fascia, and use a soundtrack that lampoons the idea of buying such a device! It’s like the LAPD making a recruiting video and using “Bulls On Parade” as the soundtrack! Sheer brilliance! What’s next for GMC?
Behind an ad I want to hear “It’s a put on.” Brilliant, GM, brilliant.
John
You’re missing the point. This is at a whole other (attempted) level. By using this song (quite a famous one, many people know its lyrics and message), GM is deconstructing the whole notion of advertising in order to appeal to educated, jaded, affluent consumers. The Lincoln ads with Matthew McConaghey are doing the same thing.
This is the next wave of marketing. Pretending to ironically subvert your own message, yet seducing the consumer with style and glitz.
Hasn’t the deconstructionist approach already been thoroughly der(r)ided?
I see what you did there. Bravo, sir. Bravo.
More seriously, this is officially a strategy, not an accident. Didn’t Cadillac just use Bowie’s “Fame” in exactly the same way to sell Escalades?
Why yes, yes they did.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=cadillac+fame+commercial&FORM=VIRE3#view=detail&mid=60A0A2E8390CE5A909AB60A0A2E8390CE5A909AB
Semiotics means never having to signify you’re sorry.
Ha! Yes Jack, and I personally hate it, but it must either a) succeed in selling product, b) make the client feel smart, or c) both. This deconstructive approach is almost beyond criticism, being a product of its cultural moment.
Speaking as an educated jaded thirty something with a six figure salary:
LOL, I’ll keep my old Prius. Thanks.
Makes you wonder what the real reason for picking this particular song was.
lets not get ahead of ourselves and try to put too much ulterior motive behind GM’s marketing
maybe its just a good song?
and for the people likely to buy these vehicles, is Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Keith Moon etc. slightly too old to be on their radar?
Didnt Apple famously use a lot of songs that derided consumerism and planned obsolesense?
Companies can be remarkably tone deaf and not self aware and even I’d say GM arent the worst here (but they’re close).
A lot of thought goes into these choices. There were many, many meetings and minds that had input on the song’s choice. While you’re probably right that “it’s just a good song” is the final reason, I’d be interested to know what went on behind those ad agency meeting room doors. Surely someone pointed out what Jack noted. In the end, I guess it doesn’t really matter. The vast majority of people will never ever know or care what the song is about.
Eminence Front came out in ’82, and the prime buyer for a $60k truck is likely 50 or higher. It’s a safe assumption they’re well aware of The Who.
And the people marketing to the 50+ age set are certainly -50 themselves.
They needed recognizable music that fit the GMC visual aesthetic.
This feels like the billionth time we’ve seen this…
1. Carnival Cruises uses “Lust for Life” to advertise it’s product seemingly oblivious to the meaning of the song.
2. John Kerry uses “Fortunate Son” for his 2004 Presidential campaign seemingly oblivious to the meaning of the song.
3. Reagan and Republicans praising Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” seemingly oblivious to the meaning of the song.
Let’s be honest about this – how many people will recognize this song?
Of those who recognize the song – how many will know the lyrics?
Of those who know the lyrics – how many comprehend the message?
If stupid people doing ironic and/or oblivious things were newsworthy, the 24-hour news cycle would have been pressed into service long, long ago.
GM sucks, marketing and advertising people suck, morons who co-opt popular art for profit suck, morons who obliviously consume this kind of stuff suck.
The world sucks and it’s full of sucky people. Next, the sun will rise in the east tomorrow morning…
This is the Occam’s Razor explanation, and is probably the answer. For as many marketers out there that go over such choices in painstaking detail, the “it sounds cool and people recognize it” consensus usually wins out.
danio: agreed. +1
danio3834 – I agree.
The first time I saw the commercial I thought, ” Interesting concept, nice background soundtrack”
BUT the next thought entered my mind and pushed out any positives because……….
How is the Sierra more Precision made than a Silverado?
Agreed. Someone in marketing picked it because it sounds cool (and it does). Nobody either got the true meaning of the song, or if they did, they didn’t care.
i dont believe that the marketing people are there dissecting the lyrics and looking for ‘hidden meaning’… i say hidden but the reality is that its almost always plain to see
let’s put this another way, the artist and agents sold the rights to the song… if they cared that much surely they would point out the ironies to the customer (ie. GM)
but nah… why would you when money is the motive?
No different than “Like A rock”……. they liked that phrase and a highly recognizable guitar rift.
They didn’t care that the song was about a middle aged guy past his prime ruminating about the past.
Like a Rock lyrics are an ironic bankruptcy legacy for GM.
“Like A Rock”
That’s their best one so far. Until the infamous “Piston Slap” fiasco happened…
“Like A KNOCK!!!” Chevys became the butt of jokes everywhere trucks gathered. GM had to kill the campaign because of that whole mess.
Mitsubishi used Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life as well.
Maybe the folks at the ad agencies don’t know that the song is about a street hustling junkie.
To STP’s credit, they used the Drive By Truckers’ music for their fuel injector cleaner. DBT actually does songs about cars and driving, though nobody ever was conceived in the back of a Mustang Mach One in green, even if it does make a great song lyric. Well, unless their parents are dwarfs.
Here’s my pitch for GM’s next ad – Puttin’ People on the Moon by DBT.
Probably the “right” song for Cadillac’s next “moon shot”!
You seem to give to much relevance to the messages in those songs. In this case yeah the song derides consumerism and status symbols, and was written by men famous for their consumption of status symbols. If the WHO can use the profits from a song lambasting luxury goods to indulge in luxury goods (to the point of bankruptcy as it happens) how is a purveyor of luxury goods any worse for inverting that process?
Great music or not I refuse to be lectured by people who are worse than I am. Bono can piss off about my life style for as long as he uses private jets to transport his hat, Keith Moon has no moral ground to stand on concerning my consumerism given his hobby of destroying things far more expensive than any Denali.
Unlike you, at least Bono tries to use his fame and fortune as a force for positive change in the world. And, news flash: Keith Moon has been dead for 36 years – he died 3 years before “Eminence Front” was recorded.
Funny, I grew up in the Who’s prime and never even heard of this tune. Someone at the ad agency must have flung his grey ponytail off his bald spot and said, “hey dudes, let’s make this one fit!”
Biggest problem I see is the truck design language in the first place. Simply put,
Ford = Gillette Fusion razor blades
GM = chicken wire
All brands: Pompous Tonka toys that can’t fit into your garage or a normal parking place.
Can’t we get something a little more reasonable?
If I were looting for an SUV, what I’d me looking for is interior space utilization and loading/unloadingthat’s similar to my minivan.
Add in 4×4 and a hybrid system with an electric power takeoff, and you have a real no-compromisis family adventure vehicle.
These big GM things just aren’tas good at everyday tasks like parking and loading as my minivan. I see families at my son’s preschool trying to make these tonka toys work every day — no thanks!
I don’t get this, I drive a perfectly reasonable pickup that I have little trouble parking anywhere. It’s an older truck without much pretense and is entirely an exercise in practicality. Now I share a lot with several newer trucks, modern crew cabs with monster grills and ridiculous styling. But they are no bigger in terms of foot print. They fit where I fit.
I think your opinion is strictly a response to the shameless styling cues in vogue now, rather than a reasoned response. In practical terms new trucks are little bigger than past models if any bigger at all.
Peter DeLorenzo ripped this campaign a new one in Autoextremist a couple weeks ago, without noting the music, which, once you take that into account, just takes “Precision” from bad to worse.
True, the song isn’t THAT well known today. We’re talking about a minor hit from 32 years ago.
But the hook is indelible…
“It’s a put-on,
a put-on, a put on…”
And Classic Rock has fans among Millennials as well as Gen-X’ers and Boomers.
I can’t believe NO ONE in the food chain said “Hey! Do we REALLY want that association?” It’s not like The Who don’t have about 572 other recordings made in the Baroque style if you want to convey a “precision” sound.
How bad is it in the grand scheme of things?
Granted, this ISN’T Subaru’s “flying vagina” design language of a decade ago, which if you’ll recall, was actually Subaru’s salute to its parent Fuji’s Zero warplanes of WWII…shown in greatest effect on a crossover designed for the NA market and named after the hipster “Tribeca” section of NYC.
The SAME warplanes that killed thousands of American soldiers from Pearl Harbor to Kamikaze missions.
No, we’re not talking THAT kind of tone-deafness here.
But for a vehicle line that’s spent most of its history as a put-on…a badge-engineered Chevrolet? That only NOW is showing a unique enough differentiation in its design language that they don’t all look like fancy Chevies?
POOR choice.
I don’t get your take here, the Zero was a great plane. Why shouldn’t Subaru associate with that?
Meh…
I’m sure better examples of GM marketing stupidity can be found.
“In short, it’s a song that criticizes the kind of people who buy a chrome-grilled GMC truck over a Chevrolet. ”
Isn’t it “Ironic”, don’t you think?-Alanis Morissette
@Lie2me – interesting take on it.
New theory:
The add was penned by disgruntled Chevy truck guys at GM. Use a song that is critical of phony false fronts.
After all, isn’t the Denali just a blinged GM which is actually just a tarted up Chevy?
There are plenty of dudes in truckdom that believe that as fact.
A song written by people who represented indulgence to the extreme. Why isn’t that as big a deal? Or bigger even?
Profits from this song probably went towards Townsends Rolls Royce Mansion or private plane.
If anything there is a beautiful symmetry here, you rabidly consume a song that derides consumerism. Those funds contribute to the large scale consumerism on the part of the people deriding the same and eventually that song you love is sold back to you by the perveyors of blatant consumerism and part of the funds from your consumerism again goes back to the people deriding your consumerism to fuel more of their own consumerism.
Personally I rather like seeing talented, inspirational artists rewarded for their work. The problem with your little proletarian diatribe is that you don’t understand what motivates artists (in general). Musical artists (in particular) persevere through all the years of crap that it takes to become successful because they love what they do, not because of the remote possibility of huge success. This doesn’t however mean that they take a vow of poverty – nor should they.
In my world, staying true to your roots and maintaining your artistic integrity in spite of financial success are things to be admired and applauded, not be condemned for.
I prefer to save my scorn for those who exploit the struggles of others in order to get rich – I’m pretty sure The Who hasn’t done that.
This is the same GM marketing that saw fit to approve Bowie’s “Fame” as the soundtrack to the new Cadillac Escalade spot — the one with the well-to-do African American couple driving to their chalet, complete with a butler waiting for their arrival on the front steps.
Talk about tone deaf. If GMC is a “put on,” let’s see what the Bowie thinks about the driver of the Escalade:
Fame, makes a man take things over
Fame, lets him lose, hard to swallow
Fame, puts you there where things are hollow
Fame
Fame, it’s not your brain, it’s just the flame
That burns your change to keep you insane
Fame
Fame, what you like is in the limo
Fame, what you get is no tomorrow
Fame, what you need you have to borrow
Fame
Fame, “Nein! It’s mine!” is just his line
To bind your time, it drives you to, crime
Fame
Could it be the best, could it be?
Really be, really, babe?
Could it be, my babe, could it, babe?
Really, really?
Is it any wonder I reject you first?
Fame, fame, fame, fame
Is it any wonder you are too cool to fool
Does anybody listen to the lyrics any more? Of course, the creative teams working on these accounts are made up of copywriters and art directors whose parents were in middle school in 1975.
They could use “Golden Years” for Cadillac.
Back of a dream car, twenty foot long.
If they still made a 20 foot long car, but they don’t because Impala.
1st, GM’s new ad agencies are truly incompetent, including Publicus (which replaced Campbell Ewald, maker of “Like A Rock” and “Heartbeat of America’ for Chevy, and the past Led Zeppelin “Rock & Roll” driven “Break Through” ad – Cadillac’s best ad ever).
2nd, The Who are an awesome band, and “Eminence Front” is their version of Led Zeppelin’s “When The Levee Breaks,” meaning it never achieved widespread success on the charts despite being brilliant, but I digress.
3rd, I’ve seen the 1st of these ads, which features a baseball pitcher “painting the corners” akin to creating a Rembrandt, and the song is the only good aspect of the ad purely because it’s so good (and they use only a refined, instrumental only portion).
4th, the song was probably chosen purely because some algorithm identified it as matching the characteristics of a high end GMC truck target buyer, who is probably more likely than not a 50+ male of relatively successful means, probably a small business owner or successful self-employed contractor, who for whatever reason thinks GMC design language and the badge are materially upscale versus anything (despite being materially the same truck) from Chevrolet.
5th, now Chevy truck buyers can feel confident that GM corporate views them as Joe Dirt types whenever they see the “Born Free” Kid Rock commercial.
p.s. -Fun Trivia Fact about Eminence Front
“Beh-it’s an em-emin-in-ence front!” What did they just sing?
In the originally released version of The Who’s “Eminence Front” ***there was a bit of a timing mismatch in the first chorus.*** Guitarist Pete Townshend was a syllable behind vocalist Roger Daltrey which led to some difficulty understanding what the guys were saying until the chorus came around again.
This error was eventually “fixed” with some panning when a remixed version of the song was released in 1997.”
Oddly enough, this timing mismatch was INTENTIONALLY used by The Wrecking Crew (very technical studio musicians employed by some of the biggest bands and musicians of the 60s, 70s & 80s to record LPs, often substituting in for regular band members) – including to produce Phil Spector’s famous Wall Of Sound.
If you haven’t seen the documentary about them (titled “The Wrecking Crew”) and are into music, it’s a MUST SEE.
Seconded! If you dug the Funk Brothers, you will also enjoy The Wrecking Crew. Having spent hours practicing Carol Kaye’s instruction books as a kid, it’s awesome to see what a monster she was – the James Jamerson of 60’s – 70’s rock ‘n roll.
Unfortunately, Carol Kaye has used the fact that Motown rerecorded some tunes in LA to claim that it was she, and not James Jamerson, who played bass on the Motown hits. That’s disputed by surviving members of the Funk Brothers and a chorus of Jamerson fans, defending his legacy.
It’s really a shame because Kaye had a big role influencing pop and rock with her work with the Wrecking Crew. No need for her to inflate her resume.
BTW, there’s an effort going on to make a documentary on the search for the “Funk Machine”, Jamerson’s Fender bass, that was stolen not long before his death.
A great example of GM advertising stupidity are the Howie Long attack adds. They sold a lot of tailgate steps for Ford and heated steering wheels for Ram.
Other stupid adds where the “Chevrolet Introduces Max and Al Advertising Campaign for Silverado Heavy Duty”.
The homosexual undertones to these adds were hilarious.
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/11/chevy-launches-max-and-al-online-campaign-for-silverado-heavy-duty.html
Have you bought this particular song? Or any WHO song? Do you see any irony in buying a song that lampoons conspicuous consumption so that the boys in the band can afford things like Ferraris and lavish mansions?
If this sells trucks it’s a successful ad, and it likely will. As you suggested the people likely to bite these trucks are likely to be of the generation and culture that listened to the WHO, and whatever the content of the songs the famous antics of the band that most fans must be aware of make consumerism out to be a great time.
People are suggesting that GM is to ignorant or stupid to realsie that the content of the song clashes with their business model, I suggest that they both realize it and also don’t care. Because it dose not matter. There is no hypocrisy in this ad, the hypocrisy is in the band members them selves and the consumer has already absolved them of any possible sin on that count.
If the WHO can charge you stupid money to buy a song railing against the very thing they endevor to do GM can do the same and not be any worse for it.
Do they farm these things out to ad agencies or is this in house? Maybe someone is really sick of their job… Also this is the first time I’ve actually seen the ad so maybe their goal was to attract ridicule from blogs and stuff to generate press…
Thunderfinger’s slap funk wrapped around that guitar hook…could be more genius but don’t know how. Sorry, off track but what an all-time great song.
You ain’t kidding.
Best use of a tune in an ad? Chet Atkins’ ‘Jam Man’ by Esurance.
Brilliant (Google ‘chet atkins jam man commercial’).
“It’s like the LAPD making a recruiting video and using ‘Bulls On Parade’ as the soundtrack!”
COME WIT NOW!!!
Cadillac should use Cyprus Hill songs in their new ad campaign.
Or CyprEss Hill.
“Insane in the Brain” seems to fit the current regime.
That song is already in use at the White House.
Remember “It’s Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile” from 1990 along with the ridiculous, jarring soundtrack that spelled the eventual demise of Oldsmobile. I know, I started selling Oldsmobiles in August 1990.
Eminence Front: one of the coolest MTV videos and a song all about the excesses of the 1980s, only spoken right before “Reaganomics” began. I thought it was Paul Newman in the video!
Ahh, a 1979 Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine. Back when Cadillac mattered.
My 1983 Coupe deVille exuded the same grace and luxury.
As if! Cadillac is about purses and junk.
Seriously though, MY83? In the thick of 4100 and diesels?
Cadillac was NOT purses and junk in the 1980s. It was still the epitome of success until 1985. My 1983 Cadillac had a great 4100-not every one of them was bad. It was not an era of horsepower so much as luxury.
You just had to be there. . .
. . . 1988 . . . Climbing the steep hill to the Orange Hills Mining Company Restaurant and the digital readout of my 1985 Eldorado showed the actual 6 MPG!
Very cool and gas was $1.08 per gallon.
“Very cool and gas was $1.08 per gallon.”
…which isn’t all that far off its current price, inflation-adjusted.
True. The inflation-adjusted price of gasoline would be $2.88. However, wages have not kept up in the past 30 years where the 1% have seen explosive increases in their income and holdings.
A good job in the 1980s paid $17 per hour. Today you have to wait behind thousands of applicants wishing for $13 per hour (Nissan manufacturing in Mississippi).
Classic American rock bands like The Who go great with good old Americana like pickup trucks and stuff.
The combination of Rock n’ Roll with a quality product can definitely be a huge success, and it there’s really no need to overthink it, either. I remember one of the greatest commercials of this type was a song created for Wrangler jeans by some band called Fortunate Son. The song was full an infectious energy that made you want to just go out and wave the flag, be proud of America, and buy a pair of your favorite blue jeans.
Let’s face it, a good rock song goes with just about anything that matches it in spirit.
One more perfect example – the Clash’s “Rock the Casbah”, which I believe was created as a tribute to the coalition armed forces during the Gulf War.
You are correct on Rock and Roll being a form of American jingoism.
However, both The Who and The Clash are British bands.
The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones…
The Animals, Pink Floyd, Queen, The Kinks…
It’s amazing to think how many of the songs of these British bands became anthems of generations of Americans for on reason or another.
@DeadWeight – it is just a matter of association. Songs get tied to points in time and the mood of that moment. The nationality of the singers don’t matter.
“Paradise by the dashboard light.” (Meat Loaf)
It was in a sense American music, the British were deeply influenced by various American genres, it didn’t take long for those kids to make over here where there was a large starving market and the refreshed take on good old American style was bound to reverberate with young Americans looking for both something new and at the same time relevant to them.
“You are correct on Rock and Roll being a form of American jingoism.”
I have to strongly disagree. The vast majority of RnR has historically been anti-war and anti-military establishment.
This has me thinking about Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”, famously mistaken for being some sort of patriotic anthem.
@thalter
+2 points.
Try for the high score!
*chuckles* Well done.
Congrats on being the first to get it (or at least admit it).
I was aiming for something that would sound like this girl’s identically oblivious older brother with a Marketing degree:
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/musically-oblivious-8th-grader?ref=sub-entries
Sadly, with many millennials being the way they are, I wouldn’t blame thalter and my old ideological sparring pal PCH101 for making those helpful corrections in earnest.
Rock the Casbah was about Iran’s ban on most music that followed the fall of the Shah. It was released in 1982, several years before the Gulf War.
Great, now I can’t get it out of my head.
Rock the casbah, rock the casbah…
1982? Iran?
Really?
I hate to inform you, but this “Joe Strummer” guy got that one wrong. For a famous music critic, he does some pretty shoddy research and most certainly knows nothing about The Clash.
Everybody knows “Rock the Casbah” was written to support Operation Desert Storm.
Dude, WTF are you talking about?
He’s just trying to be cute (I hope).
If so then I’ve got some bad news for him – it’s not working.
Yep.
That’s some awesome trolling, that is. No one could put that much wrong in one post without trying.
I think it’s worth considering this rule “never trust your ad agencies employees”. Lots of stuff gets out the door based on the well founded belief that the customer is far too stupid to realize we’re making fun of them.
No, the supposed substance of this song means nothing compared to the wild indulgence of the people who wrote it. If any body should be laughing its the WHO, you bought into the song and invested some meaning in while the authors were spending your money on exotic cars lavish houses and all the trappings they have you believing they oppose. Using a song written to take your money to take even more of your money is funny though.
I’ll be glad when this unfortunate trend of using classic rock tunes to sell products is over. Not that there aren’t some decent songs there, but the ads always smack loudly of the most rudimentary kind of pandering (I know, that’s the whole point). You can almost hear the excitement in the 30-something ad agency guy’s (or gal’s) voice – “oh the boomers are just going to eat this up!”
And btw I’m old enough to remember the Yardbirds, so yeah, I’m squarely in their target demographic.
Now if only GM would use a song by Nothing More or Killswitch Engage in one of their ads…
Cadillac is going to use the Rolling Stones ‘Satisfaction’ in their next batch of ads:
I can’t get no satisfaction
‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
When I’m drivin’ in my car
And that man comes on the radio
And he’s tellin’ me more and more
About some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination
I can’t get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say
I can’t get no satisfaction
I can’t get no satisfaction
‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
When I’m watchin’ my TV
And that man comes on to tell me
How white my shirts can be
But he can’t be a man ’cause he doesn’t smoke
The same cigarrettes as me
I can’t get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say
I can’t get no satisfaction
I can’t get no girl reaction
May I present to you what is, IMHO, the quintessential DeadWeight Cadillac lament song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiDnB-CrrNs
First thing I thought was “why are they using this song?” It really denotes the band’s last hurrah and didn’t strike a chord with me at all. I thought washed-up/has been/on the way out when I saw it. I am quite familiar with the band and song but they could’ve ripped it with Wont Get Fooled Again or something and queued the scream near the end to get the viewer’s attention. Eminence Front? Great song? Yup. Does it set a fire under you? Nope.. Hidden message? Doubt it.
This is the first time I’ve heard this one, and it sounds like it could’ve been released today!
Also: “Eminence Front” has had some life prior to providing GMC some of its eminence, including:
*A news music package for WVTV-TV in the 1980s
*The “Miami Vice” third-season episode “Kill Shot”
*The Weather Channel’s “Local on the 8s” in January 2010
*Appearing on “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” on a trailer for the game, and on the playlist of one of the game’s stations
Make of all that what you will.
FWIW, Townsend has been widely quoted as having introduced the song live with “This song is about what happens when you take too much white powder. It’s called Eminence Front”
It’s about drug use by rich people, not about shopping by rich people.
LOL the pure, delicious irony of using “Eminence Front” in an ad for GM’s blinged-up Urban Assault Vehicles.
While I’m sure The Who indulged just as much as the rest of the rockers in their day, let’s not forget they also founded Teen Cancer America.