The media kind of ruins classical music for me

I'm not sure you guys agree with me because a lot of you are probably more deeply attuned with classical music than I am. I really like classical music, but I hate how, whenever it's used in advertisements and other media like TV shows, it's always done in either tongue-in-cheeky or in a really shallow, cheesy way. It's like society doesn't appreciate it at all, so they're willing to whore it around in commercials and funny TV shows. "Moonlight Sonata" is one of the most beautiful pieces ever, but whenever I listen to it now, I always think of a goddamn KIA commercial or something like that. I know a lot of you probably manage to appreciate classical music because you can ignore the media or whatever, but it really bothers me that I can't appreciate it as much. Of course it's easier to listen to the less mainstream classical musicians, but I still feel deprived of the bigger ones. Does anyone know what I mean?

Oh, I don't know. Commercials sometimes rescue truly great music from undeserved obscurity. Many years ago a British Airways commercial resurrected the Flower Duet from Leo Delibes' opera Lakmé (patience, it gets good after the recitative).

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

It's been a concert hall staple ever since.

And a recent Dow Chemical commercial used this little gem, William Walton's Touch Her Soft Lips and Part from the movie score to Henry V.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I kinda feel the same, and commercials miss the point all the time of whatever song they're using. Beach Boys songs get this treatment a lot so people recognize the tunes from laundry detergent ads.

I hate it when Volkswagen uses Ride of the Valkyries for a few of their car adds. One time they tried to get cheesy and put a super hero cape on one of their SUV's or cross-overs or whatever.

Another one is the 1812 Overture on some reality show about this celebrity hanging out with an underraged Paparazzi trying to see what life is like from the Paparzzi's perspective. They played the 1812 overture as they were rushing to get last minute photos of some actress and used the piece to try and bring suspense and drama.
That's not what the damn piece is about, it's about the Russians driving away Napoleon from Moscow...

Actually, I like this commercial and the piece they used:

A classic of a sort (no, actually, not of a sort — a classic, full stop). The inimitable Dinah Washington sings Relax, Max used in a DoubleTree Hotel commercial (would never have heard this otherwise).



Watch commercials! They broaden the mind.

Originally Posted by Corvis

Actually, I like this commercial and the piece they used:

What piece is that, anyway? I've always wanted to know.

Originally Posted by ♔EmperorBatman999♔

I hate it when Volkswagen uses Ride of the Valkyries for a few of their car adds.

Aww come on, it's only Wagner.

Originally Posted by Evile

Wrong, It was epic.[/YOUTUBE]

It was an opinion. Maybe you should respect other peoples'?

Good points have been made here. I don't know, maybe I'm generalizing. I know they're not all bad, but it still bothers me. I guess it's just a personal thing.

Btw I really liked this one, thanks for posting it:

Originally Posted by skh1

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Makes sense but it never bothered me.

All great music gets abused this way, not just classical.

Originally Posted by Arch-hereticK

All great music gets abused this way, not just classical.

This is true, but I mostly see classical. I did see "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones used in a Black Ops commercial, which was kind of annoying

Also I'm not saying all commercials use classical music badly... Just a lot of them.

Originally Posted by Jumpin Jack Flash

Also I'm not saying all commercials use classical music badly... Just a lot of them.

… and cartoons! Don't forget cartoons.

http://www.spike.com/video/whats-opera-doc/2779535

(Man, I haven't seen this in years. Sadly a badly compressed video.)

Originally Posted by Arch-hereticK

All great music gets abused this way, not just classical.

Not if the original artist/composer opposes it vigorously. Like Tom Waits. He even sued when someone tried to imitate his piece.

I know next to nothing about classical music, but I know Winter Overture is completely overused. As is O Fortuna.

Winter Overture...ever since Requiem For a Dream, everyone and their mother overuses it

Originally Posted by RZZZA

I know next to nothing about classical music, but I know Winter Overture is completely overused. As is O Fortuna.

Winter Overture...ever since Requiem For a Dream, everyone and their mother overuses it

Yeah you have to ask 'what do these people think?' that after a billion times of being used to promote or enhance just about anything, the audience is somehow going to be mesmerized by whatever current subject it gets combined with?

This is true, but I mostly see classical. I did see "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones used in a Black Ops commercial, which was kind of annoying

Wrong, It was epic. Never thought it would have been used like that and BTW, Title should have been Media ruins everything for me. I once saw the News here in Australia and the story was of how an Australian girl was murdered by her American mother (Which is horrible) but they claimed that just a quick look on her Facebook account revealed a "Dark side" they showed a five second clip of the start of Rob Zombies song "Living Dead Girl" that the woman had uploaded to her account.

Originally Posted by Jumpin Jack Flash

It's like society doesn't appreciate it at all

Bottomline, times have changed. People today like musics with stupid lyrics and I have to admit I am one of them (but not Justin Bieber......that guy....). I like some classical musics though.

I'd rather have commercials sample classical music than the retro junk they usually do and often times repeat over and over.

It is annoying to see many commercials abuse good music, both classic and otherwise. Game sounds are often thrown in as well from screams and such.

Sometimes its done right though, and then its a nice tribute to the original.

Most people who work in advertisement and promotion are idiots however. Just look at the inpractical shape of some products, almost identical packages for different flavours, and the large amount of extremely dull commercials that no one would ever talk positively about with each other.

Its the funny and stylish commercials that people will talk about, the funny ones are even shown again and again in special programs dedicated to funny commercials, ensuring the product's old commercials to be shown years after it was originally on tv.