Selling out? Or just selling…

When Nike licensed the Beetles “Revolution” for a commercial - music purists thought the world was ending.

Other artists decried the practice- some swearing it off- and then later changing their minds. Reality is- having your music in a commercial, or in a video that goes viral is the best thing to happen for sales.

Take the latest iPod Nano ad from Apple:

iPod Nano commercial the Apple of singer Feist’s eye | Tech&Sci | Technology | Reuters.com
NEW YORK (Billboard) - The use of Canadian singer-songwriter Feist’s song “1, 2, 3, 4” in an iPod Nano TV spot is generating major attention — online and on the Billboard charts.

Since the ad debuted in mid-September, sales of “1, 2, 3, 4” and its parent Cherrytree/Interscope album, “The Reminder,” have skyrocketed.

Earlier this month, the track was selling about 2,000 downloads per week, while the album was shifting 6,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. On the most recent charts, “1, 2, 3, 4” clears 73,000 downloads and reaches new peaks of No. 7 on Hot Digital Songs and No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. “The Reminder” jumps from No. 36 to No. 28 on the Billboard 200, with sales of 19,000.

In total, “1, 2, 3, 4” and “The Reminder” have amassed sales of 181,000 and 235,000, respectively. (Feist’s debut album, 2005’s “Let It Die,” has sold 147,000 copies.)

While the iPod Nano spot is introducing Feist to mainstream America, online chatter is paving the way to sales of the singer’s music. Feist is not identified in the campaign — created by TBWA/Media Arts Lab — and this has led many consumers to the Web in search of the voice behind the song in the commercial.

Considering that many people will actually buy the music from the iTunes store- Apple has another revenue stream to offset the cost of advertising. Apple is actually smart enough to put a link to the song right with the online version of the ad- but, could do better by doing the following:

• Have a unique URL for each ad- so people can link to it.
• Have text with the words to the song for people searching the words.
• Add a description of the ad so that blind people would know what the ad is all about. Like it or not- an iPod is something a blind person would buy (and that makes me wonder about how ADA compliant the iPod interface is?)
• Include a way to embed the video in blogs- I had to get it from YouTube- where there is no “buy it now” button for the iPod.

These are simple tips to building a better website for companies who spend huge sums on ads- but haven’t quite mastered the art of incorporating them into their websites.

And if you really want the song, 1,2,3,4 from Feist, you can buy it from this link:

The complete lyrics are:

One Two Three Four
Tell me that you love me more
Sleepless long nights
That is what my youth was for

Old teenage hopes are alive at your door
Left you with nothing but they want some more

Oh, you’re changing your heart
Oh, You know who you are

Sweetheart bitterheart now I can tell you apart
Cosy and cold, put the horse before the cart

Those teenage hopes who have tears in their eyes
Too scared to own up to one little lie

Oh, you’re changing your heart
Oh, you know who you are

One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, or ten
Money can’t buy you back the love that you had then
One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, or ten
Money can’t buy you back the love that you had then

Oh, you’re changing your heart
Oh, you know who you are
Oh, you’re changing your heart
Oh, you know who you are
Oh, who you are

For the teenage boys
They’re breaking your heart
For the teenage boys
They’re breaking your heart