The hottest band in TV commercials

From CNN.com:

NEW YORK (Billboard) -- Sixteen years after they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and 23 years after their last top 10 hit ("Come Dancing"), the Kinks are in the spotlight again -- thanks to a number of TV spots that feature their distinctive pop music.

A couple of weeks ago, the British band's top 10 hit from 1964, "All Day and All of the Night," helped launch a new Tide campaign. In the coming weeks, the group's "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" and "Everybody's Gonna Be Happy" will be heard in spots for IBM and Abbott Labs, respectively.

Additional licensing opportunities for the Kinks' music are in the works, says Kenny Ochoa, VP of film/TV licensing at Sanctuary Records Group, which represents the group.

Even though many of the songs used were not big U.S. hits, Ochoa credits this "Kinks renaissance" to the timelessness of the band's music, which has influenced many of today's rock bands.

He says an additional credit must go to Hewlett-Packard, which licensed the Kinks' "Picture Book" for an award-winning 2004 campaign.

"When spots work, they really work," Ochoa says. "The music and visuals drove that spot -- it was a perfect marriage."

Many agree. "The song captured the overall spirit of the spot," says Eric Korte, VP/music director of Saatchi & Saatchi in New York.

The same is true of the new Tide spot, which Korte worked on. While the lyrics of "All Day and All of the Night" cleverly fit in with the detergent's clean-clothes-at-all-times mantra, the song's classic guitar lick is just as powerful.

"You hear that guitar part and your brain starts singing the song's hook," Korte says. "This is helpful in advertising." Which helps to explain why many classic '60s and '70s rock songs, with simple hooks and recognizable riffs, are being championed in campaigns today.

Indeed, those paying close attention will recall that "All Day and All of the Night" has been used during the past couple of years in spots for Kohl's, Saab and GM.

Unfortunately, many of these classic songs, including "All Day and All of the Night" and "Picture Book," are not available at the iTunes Music Store.

What is available at iTunes is the new solo album from Kinks' frontman Ray Davies. Issued February 21 in the United States via V2, "Other People's Lives" arrives at a time when there appears to be a renewed interest in the band Davies helped form. But V2 says it has no plans to connect the dots between the voice heard in all these TV ads and Davies' new album.

While it's nice that these old songs are getting attention once again it does seem like bands such as the Kinks are selling out. I guess they can justify it in their own minds by saying that the songs are reaching a whole new generation. To me it cheapens the true meaning of those songs. I've seen Lynyrd Skynyrd songs being used in beer commercials. That is a sign things have gone too far. I know the temptation of money is hard to resist but are all these bands struggling to put food on the table? I think not.