Oldies and Classic Rock Songs Used in TV Commercials

Television commercials often turn to classic rock and oldies songs as soundtracks for their pitch to make people of targeted demographics pay attention to their products. Some song and product pairings are more memorable than others, but when they work, they make the commercial—and, therefore, the product—more memorable. That's exactly why companies regularly turn to these classic favorites.

When a song appears on TV unexpectedly (and in such a short clip), recalling the title of the song can be a challenge, so here you'll find the artist and the song titles under each brand name or company. This list is useful for you to add forgotten favorites to your playlist, from cars to sodas and everything in between. 

7-Up

Song: The Partridge Family, "Sunshine"

Allstate

Song: The Association, "Never My Love"

Ameriprise

Song: The Spencer Davis Group, "Gimme Some Lovin'"

Ameriquest

Song: The Spinners, "I'll Be Around"

Apple

Product: iPhone

Song: AC/DC, "Thunderstruck"

Product: iPod

Song: U2, "Vertigo"

AT&T

Song: Meat Loaf, "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights"

Buick

Song: Aerosmith, "Dream On"

Song: Nina Simone, "Feeling Good"

Burger King

Song: Helen Reddy, "I Am Woman"

Cadillac

Song: Led Zeppelin, "Rock and Roll"

California Raisins

Song: Marvin Gaye, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" 

Carnival Cruises

Song: Bobby Darin, "Beyond the Sea"

Chase

Song: Brenton Wood, "Gimme Little Sign"

Song: The Rolling Stones, "I'm Free"

Chevrolet

Song: The Yardbirds, "Over Under Sideways Down"

Song: The Kinks, "You Really Got Me"

Song: Climax, "Precious and Few"

Song: Herman's Hermits, "I'm Into Something Good"

Cialis

Song: The Ronettes, "Be My Baby"

Cingular/AT&T Wireless

Song: The Allman Brothers, "Melissa"

Song: The Band, "The Weight"

Cisco

Song: The Who, "Baba O'Riley"

Citgo

Song: Three Dog Night, "Shambala"

Clinique

Song: The Turtles, "Happy Together"

Clix

Song: Johnny "Guitar" Watson, "Gangster of Love"

Clorox Wipes

Song: Mario Lanza, "Beloved"

Coca-Cola

Song: T. Rex, "The Slider"

Product: Coca-Cola With Lime
Song: Harry Nilsson, "Coconut"

Product: Black Cherry Vanilla Coke
Song: Barry White, "You're the First, The Last, My Everything"

Coors

Song: The O’Jays, "Love Train"

DeBeers

Song: Cat Stevens, "How Can I Tell You"

Degree

Song: Professor Longhair, "Big Chief"

Delta SimpleFares

Song: Donovan, "Happiness Runs"

DirecTV

Song: Joe Bonamassa, "Better Watch Yourself"

Song: Thunderclap Newman, "Something in the Air"

Dodge

Song: Nazareth, "Hair of the Dog"

Song: Deep Purple, "Smoke on the Water"

Dolce & Gabbana

Song: Charles Mingus, "Moanin'"

Doubletree Hotels

Song: Dinah Washington, "Relax Max"

Dr. Pepper

Song: Hot Chocolate, "You Sexy Thing"

Product: Diet Dr. Pepper
Song: Tom Jones, "Help Yourself"

Song: The Muppets, "Mahna Mahna"

Product: Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper
Song: Fats Domino, "Ain't That a Shame"

ESPN Mobile

Song: Chad and Jeremy, "A Summer Song"

Fidelity Investments

Song: The Zombies, "Time of the Season"

Song: KC and the Sunshine Band, "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty"

Song: Billy Preston, "Nothing From Nothing"

FluFacts

Song: Mungo Jerry, "In the Summertime"

Fox Soccer Channel

Song: Dean Martin, "Sway"

Gatorade

Song: Rare Earth, "I Just Want to Celebrate"

GE

Song: Tennessee Ernie Ford, "Sixteen Tons"

Song: Donovan, "Catch the Wind"

GM

Song: The Marshall Tucker Band, "Can't You See"

GMC

Song: Bill Withers, "Use Me"

Honda

Song: Parliament, "Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)"

HP

Song: Maxine Sullivan, "Blue Skies"

Product: HP Photosmart
Song: The Robins, "Out of the Picture"

Product: HP Picture Book
Song: The Kinks, "Picture Book"

Hummer

Song: The Who, "Happy Jack"

Song: Tom Jones, "Help Yourself"

Song: Ruth Brown, "This Little Girl's Gone Rockin'"

Jeep

Song: Andy Kim, "Rock Me Slowly"

Journey Diamond

Song: Barbra Streisand, "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life"

Just For Men

Song: Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"

Kia

Song: The Sound of Music (Original Cast), "So Long, Farewell"

Kohl's

Song: The Lovin’ Spoonful, "Do You Believe in Magic"

Song: Electric Light Orchestra, "Do Ya"

Korbel

Song: Pilot, "Magic"

Land Rover

Song: The Sonics, "Have Love Will Travel"

Lexmark

Song: The Rolling Stones, "Complicated"

Levis

Song: Johnny Cash, "I Walk the Line"

Song: The Commodores, "Easy"

Lexus

Song: Nina Simone, "Backlash Blues"

Lincoln

Song: Santo and Johnny, "Sleep Walk"

M&Ms

Song: The Hues Corporation, "Rock the Boat"

Mastercard

Song: Roger Miller, "Walkin' in the Sunshine"

Mercedes

Song: Booker T & the M.G.'s, "Green Onions"

Song: Nat King Cole, "For Sentimental Reasons (I Love You)"

Song: Janis Joplin, "Mercedes-Benz"

Mercury

Song: Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"

'Miami Ink' TV Show

Song: Toots and the Maytals, "Funky Kingston"

Monster.com

Song: Electric Light Orchestra, "Do Ya"

Mylanta

Song: John Sebastian, "Welcome Back (Theme from 'Welcome Back Kotter')"

NFL.com

Song: Canned Heat, "Let's Work Together"

Nike

Song: Kool & the Gang, "Summer Madness"

Nissan

Song: Tito Puente, "Oye Como Va"

Office Depot

Song: Bachman-Turner Overdrive, "Taking Care of Business"

OfficeMax

Song: The Spinners, "Rubberband Man"

Old Navy

Song: Kiss, "Rock and Roll All Nite"

Pepsi

Song: The Rolling Stones, "Brown Sugar"

Song: Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean"

Product: Diet Pepsi

Song: Steppenwolf, "Born to Be Wild"

Pillsbury

Song: Pilot, "Magic"

Pizza Hut

Song: Nancy Sinatra, "These Boots Were Made for Walkin'"

Planters

Song: Bay City Rollers, "Saturday Night"

Pringles

Song: Carl Carlton, " Everlasting Love"

Royal Caribbean Cruises

Song: Iggy Pop, "Lust for Life"

Saturn

Song: The Muppets, "Mahna Mahna"

Sears

Song: Electric Light Orchestra, "Mr. Blue Sky"

Slimfast

Song: Chairmen of the Board, "Give Me Just a Little More Time"

Smart Balance

Song: Jackie DeShannon, "Put a Little Love in Your Heart"

Snickers

Song: Bobby Sherman, "Make Your Own Kind of Music"

Sunkist

Song: The Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations"

Special K

Song: Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, "The Girl From Ipanema"

T-Mobile

Song: Def Leppard, "Pour Some Sugar on Me"

Talbot's

Song: Marvin Gaye, "You're a Wonderful One"

Song: Sonny Curtis, "Love Is All Around"

Target

Song: Max Frost and the Troopers, "Shape of Things to Come"

Song: Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, "Express Yourself"

Song: The Beatles, "Hello Goodbye"

Tide

Song: Al Green, "Let's Stay Together"

Tommy Hilfiger

Song: Jefferson Airplane, "Volunteers"

Total

Song: Canned Heat, "On the Road Again"

Toyota

Song: Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell, "Dueling Banjos"

UPS

Song: Stevie Wonder, "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing"

Verizon

Song: The Five Stairsteps, "O-o-h Child"

VH1

Song: The Carpenters, "Sing"

Visa

Song: Raymond Scott, "Powerhouse"

Song: Buddy Holly, "Take Your Time"

Volkswagen

Song: The Ohio Players, "Love Rollercoaster"

Volvo

Song: Donovan, "Catch the Wind"

Vonage

Song: Rock-A-Teens, "Woo Hoo"

Wendy's

Song: Steppenwolf, "Magic Carpet Ride"

Wrangler

Song: Thin Lizzy, "The Boys Are Back in Town”

Yoplait

Song: Brian Hyland, "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"

Zales

Song: The Yardbirds, "For Your Love"