Finally, a television commercial co-opting a rock song that you don't mind hearing over and over again. The song is the Beatles' "Getting Better," and it's the centerpiece to a new $100 million American ad blitz by Philips Electronics. The Dutch giant's commercials tout new CD Recorders, flat panel television and high-definition TV. But whose distinct voice is that wrapped around that famous feel-good chorus? It's not John, Paul, George or Ringo. |

The gruff baritone belongs to Ben Ottewell, the lead singer of Gomez, a new band from the Beatles' hometown of Liverpool. The group's critically acclaimed, eclectic debut, Bring It On, was released Stateside by Virgin Records in September, and the group recently snagged the coveted '98 Mercury Music Award for the year's best British album. But the band hardly qualifies as a known quantity.

"We were looking for just the right enunciation of the song," explains Ed Volkwein, executive vice president at Philips North America. The company listened to more than a hundred tapes of acts, and even asked a couple dozen artists to record the song for possible use in the commercials. (According to one music-licensing source, one finalist was rejected because they sounded too much like the Fab Four, a move that could have invited a lawsuit.)

In the end, Gomez won out. "I think it's cooler to have an up-and-coming act sing the song" says Volkwein, who notes the company was told very early on that the Beatles' original version of the song, "was not an option." (Michael Jackson owns much of the Beatles catalog, which Sony Music manages on his behalf.)

Whether Philips opted for Gomez because the company had no more money to spend on a superstar act after buying the rights to the Beatles song, Volkwein isn't saying. But according to the licensing expert, the company no doubt "paid a fortune" for the Beatles hit: an estimated $1 million. The source suspects Gomez made no more than $100,000.

In exchange though, the band is getting astonishing exposure, even if it is at four seconds a pop, as the Philips spots -- directed by famed music video man Tarsem, who was behind R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" -- bombard the airwaves. Although it's doubtful that Gomez will enjoy a sales spike like the one the Verve enjoyed this year when Nike modeled an entire, sixty-second spot after the band's radio single "Bittersweet Symphony," Volkwein reports that Philips is fielding calls from consumers asking about the song. According to the band's spokeswoman, though, "Getting Better" will not become part of Gomez's live set list any time soon.

Meanwhile, Madison Avenue's love affair with buying up rock songs in hopes of grabbing consumers' attention shows no signs of slowing. For many music publishers, 1998 has outpaced 1997's record-setting year in terms of licensing songs. The ad world may have reached an apex of sorts, though. During NBC's recent made-for-TV movie about the Temptations, a Whirlpool commercial appeared right after the movie's scene showing the Motown greats recording their break-through hit, "They Way You Do The Things You Do." The song in the dishwasher commercial? The Temptations' "The Way You Do The Things You Do."

ERIC BOEHLERT(November 12, 1998)