Beautiful demonstration in the service of a great cause
 |
| David Bowie Tattoo |
WELL. Someone just uploaded a 19-minute supercut of David Bowie album TV commercials spanning the years 1974-2016. #whambam https://t.co/52ai2J6D6j— Annie Zaleski (@anniezaleski) August 12, 2018
David Bowie Album Commercials (1974-2016)
David Bowie - Collection of TV Commercial Appearances
In the late 1960s, long before Ziggy Stardust, Bowie was struggling, not above starving in an ad for British “Pop Ice Cream,” Luv.
Demonstrating he was blessed, the Luv ad was directed by no other than up-and-coming brit, Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, The Martian).
And let’s not forget BMW’s use of “Changes” during the Super Bowl for its new clean diesel technology.
David Bowie — the man who passed away — leaves the world with an impressive collection of TV adverts that have been rightfully exploited for an humongous amount of money.
Then there is “Under Pressure,” a song that commercial makers love for all the obvious reasons.
2013 - Sony made him creative director of sorts for its Xperia smartphone campaign, which used a remixed version of his song “Sound and Vision.”
Bowie placed a longer version of the remix on his own website, noting “prayers have been answered.”
He used his celebrity to promote issues he cared about, such as promoting literacy in iconic “READ” posters for the American Library Association:
Bowie was MTV, and vice versa, so no surprise to see him championing infancy.
While not the star, Bowie does appear in the mid-80s ad for the National Coffee Association.
Easy Japanese ad money proved too strong for Bowie, as seen in this ad for Takara sake.
In 2013, Bowie got his own Sirius XM channel.
But a decade earlier, when the two-satellite radio brands were battling it out as rivals, Bowie was the centerpiece of XM’s messaging.
This campaign was a hint that Bowie, in his older age, was laughing at his career.
Mercedes got Bowie’s endorsement in a magazine spread.
Bowie and his wife, Iman, were as turn of the century as (Tommy) Hilfiger.
But Bowie was also a regular brand collaborator, and starred in ad campaigns, including la publicité pour l'eau embouteillée française, in which The Thin White Duke demonstrates thirstiness from The Man Who Fell... and self-awareness.
Peak self-mocking Bowie is the form in an ad for French bottled water brand Vittel.
Bowie’s last starring role in a brand partnership came in the form of the extravagant short film, I’d Rather Be High (L’Invitation Au Voyage) for Louis Vuitton.
Infectious riffs were unmistakably riffs, not surprisingly for branding in the late 90s. And at the peak of its world domination, Microsoft built an indomitable empire around Bowie’s “Heroes.”
Cadillac employee, Bowie’s “Fame” in his Escalade spot.