Phil W Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Just enter your postcode... http://www.facebook.com/britishairways/app_388207294549278 Round my way it would probably get a parking ticket! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 (edited) It's a fun little ad isn't it? It has an interesting soundtrack for an advert for the national airline; London Calling by the Clash. A famous song from 1979 with London in the title, fair enough, but wasn't it just a tad anti-establishment??? I'm drawing from the Wikipedia article on the song which reads thus [My thoughts are in blue]: The song was written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. The title alludes to the BBC World Service's station identification: "This is London calling ...", which was used during World War II, often in broadcasts to occupied countries. [and now London's to be occupied with millions of extra tourists and coincidentally, thousands of troops] The lyrics reflect the concern felt by Strummer about world events with the reference to "a nuclear error" to the incident at Three Mile Island, which occurred earlier in 1979. Joe Strummer has said: "We felt that we were struggling about to slip down a slope or something, grasping with our fingernails. And there was no one there to help us." [maybe we should amend the lyrics to "a forecasting error" as the world's weather slips down a wet and slippery slope.] The line "London is drowning / And I live by the river" comes from concerns that if the River Thames flooded, most of central London would drown, something that led to the construction of the Thames Barrier. [Ah, he already thought of the weather. ] Strummer's concern for police brutality is evident through the lines "We ain't got no swing / Except for the ring of that truncheon thing" as the Metropolitan Police at the time had a truncheon as standard issued equipment. [Wasn't there something in the papers this week...not police brutality exactly, more a case of "We aint got no security personnel"] Social criticism also features through references to the effects of casual drug taking: "we ain't got no high / except for that one with the yellowy eyes". [Drug taking in sport? ] The lyrics also reflect desperation of the band's situation in 1979 struggling with high debt, without management and arguingl... [Now, how can that be relevant to anything happening today? Oh yes...] I hope that my comments will be understood to be based on artistic/musical nuances rather than politics per se, though I acknowledge that all art is inherently political and will quite understand if want to delete this post, Greg. Edited July 21, 2012 by per ardua ad ostentationem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripehound Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I can't believe they left the line about truncheons in. Maybe to illustrate that the ad industry thinks we're all idiots and enjoys nothing better than laughing at us? Or BA wouldn't pay for an edit, given the campaign is about making them look smugly patriotic rather than putting bums on seats. Here's hoping there is a follow up with full and unexpurgated version of 'Death or Glory' as the soundtrack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Its because the Nathan Barleys in advertising are so thick as poo-poo that they only know the title of the song and don't listen to the words or understand the context - a bit like that movie from the 80s about a Japanese car firm taking over a factory in America where they used The Vapors song "Turning Japanese" as the theme without understanding that the song was about a young man addicted to ahem self pleasure... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Its because the Nathan Barleys in advertising are so thick as poo-poo that they only know the title of the song and don't listen to the words or understand the context - a bit like that movie from the 80s about a Japanese car firm taking over a factory in America where they used The Vapors song "Turning Japanese" as the theme without understanding that the song was about a young man addicted to ahem self pleasure... Ronald Reagan used Springsteen's Born in the USA during his election campaign (presumably without permission) without realising that the words aren't entirely patriotic... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 In the 1970s, the trades union movement took on Part Of The Union by the Strawbs as its anthem. They obviously didn't listen to all the words... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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