Usually, when the advertising industry gets hold of a popular song for its nefarious purposes, the result is mortifying. Every once in awhile, though, you get something truly inspired.
Target Corp. is advertising its back-to-school booty with a takeoff of a rap song that proclaims a proclivity for ample arses.
The “Baby Got Back . . . Packs” TV commercials are a sendup of Sir Mixalot’s 1992 crossover hit “Baby Got Back.”
The old-school rapper declares, “I like big butts, and I cannot lie” in his raunchy paean. The Target rap plugs backpacks – “I like backpacks, and I cannot lie . . .” – and other back-to-school buys.
Awesome. Now all they need is to translate the lyrics into Latin, and it’ll be an all-time Hall of Fame classic in my book.
I remember hearing the old Bow Wow Wow song “I Want Candy” in a commercial a while back (Kraft mac and cheese, maybe?) and smiling to myself.
It’ll be interesting to see how long it lasts. There is a particular jingle for Aspercreme that I hear up here that used to go, “You bet your sweet Aspercreme.” All of a sudden, about a week ago, I noticed that it has been changed to, “You bet if it’s Aspercreme.” Which makes me think someone complained about how offensive the previous version was, and the company buckled under and changed it. Feh.
Let’s see if the delicate sensibilities of the American public can handle this ad campaign.
Thank you for reminding me of De clunibus magnis amandis oratio.
Seriously. I can still single “jingle bells” in Latin.
I have always had a fantasy that SNL did a skit in which Bill Clinton is in a karaoke bar singing “Baby Got Back” with a perturbed Hillary in the audience.
Imagine if you will DJ Bill C rapping out “Then turn around! Stick it out! Even white boys got to shout Baby got back!”
I smell Emmy.
Sorry guys…
I have a two year old daughter who watches “Dora the Explorer” every day and is obsessed with all things Dora.
You mentioned backpack jingles and now I can’ get that Damn Dora backpack song out of my head that comes on every episode. All I hear is Dora’s piercing voice singing:
“BACKPACK! BACKPACK! BACKPACK! BACKPACK!
I’m the Backpack
Loaded up with things and nick nacs too
Anything that you might need I got inside for you.
BACKPACK! BACKPACK! BACKPACK! BACKPACK!
YEAH!”
If you don’t have kids I’m sure you have no idea what I’m talking about.
Scary monsters
I’m so glad the shuttle spacewalk went well. I was afraid he would pull on the thread and the whole hem would come out. I dunno. I look at the shuttle and I see two things: a vehicle with no…
You can see the commercial (and other funny commercials) over at tubespot
http://www.tubespot.com/index.php?spot=target-babyimback&bw=hi