Tech tunes! 5 Microsoft ad songs that rocked our world
Let’s face it, the art of advertising has come a long way since the days of Mad Men.
One thing that has revolutionised it is the merging of fantastic filmmaking with top tunes. Happily, one company that has taken this to its musical heart is Microsoft. Want proof of our toe-tapping success? Well, look no further than this super selection, which showcases the most successful Microsoft ad tunes of the last few years. (Spoiler: A fab new track came out just last week). We challenge you not to get your groove on!
“Perdóname” by Deorro Feat. Adrian Delgado & DyCy
500 million users worldwide use the app Shazam to discover song titles and musicians, with 25 million users in Germany alone. But they aren’t only using the app for identifying songs on the radio — 85% of users use Shazam to identify music while watching TV. Last week, Microsoft scored the top spot in “Most Shazamed Advertisements” with the ad for the Lumia 535 with the background music “Perdóname” by Deorro featuring Adrian Delgado and DyCy. It’s a great song, so no wonder people want to know who it’s by.
“Mad World” by Gary Jules
Gears of War was released exclusively for Microsoft Xbox 360 in 2006, using Gary Jules’ version of “Mad World” as background music for the promotional ad. The song quickly began topping the charts in November 2006, and went on to earn Gears of War the Guinness World Record for “First Music Single to Top the Chart After Promoting a Video Game”.
“Too Close” by Alex Clare
British musician Alex Care’s “Too Close” hit the charts in 2012 after being featured in a commercial for Internet Explorer 9. The song debuted at #68 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and quickly climbed to #7, reached #1 on the German charts, and #4 on the UK Singles Chart. “Too Close” earned Care and Jim Duguid Songwriters of the Year from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in 2014.
“I Am the Best” by 2NE1
We already know that Surface Pro 3 is the best — it was even named one of the best inventions of 2014 by TIME magazine — but the use of “I Am the Best” by K-Pop group 2NE1 in its ad really drives the point home in a superbly subtle way. The catchy song was released in 2011 with success, and after being used in the Surface Pro 3 commercial in 2014, it reached #1 on Billboard ’s World Digital Songs chart.
“Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore feat. Ray Dalton
“Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore feat. Ray Dalton, the third single from duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ 2012 debut album The Heist, made charts around the world. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 at #1, earned the title of “The Most-Streamed Song of 2013” by Spotify, and received acclaim for its music video. It was featured in the commercial for Microsoft’s Outlook.com email service in 2013.
We love them all, but the million dollar question is what’s your booty-shaking best? Let us know down below.
Image credit: Adam Jackson