Double “Holiday”

The season of buying is upon us and that means endless holiday commercials on TV. Large consumer brands are trying to break through the clutter to deliver their message. Brands like Coca-Cola, Target and Best Buy have caught my attention for varying reasons, but Tommy Hilfiger and Honda have me thinking about the “holiday” a little more.

The Tommy Hilfiger commercial of an outdoor feast features Vampire Weekend’s song “Holiday.” I thought it was the perfect pairing of promoting the preppy style of Tommy Hilfiger clothing with the indie music of Vampire Weekend.

Imagine my surprise when I heard the same song on TV again but this time in a Honda commercial for its Honda Days promotion. And, there’s a radio ad featuring the song as well.

Hilfiger boosted its advertising budget by 60 percent for the second half of the year to produce their first TV commercial since 2005. The global campaign of the “Hilfiger Family” has been used in other communication channels with their digital presence on Facebook and Twitter and public media events. I wonder if they knew another major brand would be using the exact same song.

Vampire Weekend granted Honda and Tommy Hilfiger rights to the song but neither brand is effectively breaking through the clutter now that they share a soundtrack. I saw the Tommy Hilfiger ad first so every time I hear the song on TV, I think of that ad first even though it may be the Honda car commercial.

And so lies the problem of having a popular song drive your commercial. Think of how many times you’ve heard (and will continue to hear) other popular tunes like “What a wonderful world” by Louis Armstrong or “Taking Care of Business” by BTO in various spots over the years. Turns out this creative formula is usually a wildly expensive and often ineffective way to use music in broadcast advertising.

While I don’t think I’ll be buying a Honda or Tommy Hilfiger clothing anytime soon, at least I know I could be stylishly dressed while driving my fuel efficient car to a holiday gathering listening to “Holiday.”