We all know of instances where campaigns have gotten into a little hot water because of their choice of music to use at rallies, etc. Sometimes it is due to not getting permission, sometimes because they have not listened to the lyrics beyond the song title, sometimes both. Sarah Palin’s use of Barracuda by Heart comes to mind.
While watching the Olympics I’ve noticed an ad by Walmart touting their attempts to sell more American-made products to produce more American-made jobs. If the embed works properly, you can watch it here:
Could not get the embed to work. Until I get some editor help, watch it here.
You may recognize the choice of music as Working Man by Rush. This is interesting for two reasons. First, Rush is about as American as Tim Horton’s. Second, the lyrics of the song make one wonder just what kind of jobs Walmart is promoting.
I get up at seven, yeah
And I go to work at nine
I got no time for livin’
Yes, I’m workin’ all the timeIt seems to me
I could live my life
A lot better than I think I am
I guess that’s why they call me
They call me the working man
So we have a Canadian band singing a song about how someone hates their job.
When this was pointed out on the YouTube page, Walmart had this to say:
Yes, we know Rush is from Canada! We think it’s an awesome song that honors working men and women.
For those of us who think that Walmart just doesn’t get the whole labor thing, this just reinforces out assumptions.
About as dumb as Reagan rocking Born in the USA. I honestly think corporate types don’t understand irony, it’s something human that’s hard to synergize.