CD Compilation Commercials
One way to develop musical taste
I hear Celine Dion yell “CAUSE I’M YOUR LAAAAADAAAYYYY” and I’m ten years old, sitting on the floor just feet away from the tv taking it all in. The narrator invites me to “imagine owning the world’s greatest love songs,” and I’m ready for Michael Bolton to appear next and ask me how he’s supposed to live without me.
Before there was Spotify Discover, iPods, even before Now! That’s What I Call Music, there were television advertisements for allegedly limited-edition CD and cassette compilations, themed around a genre, a mood, or a particular point in time. These commercials introduced me to artists and genres that were unfamiliar to me beyond what I heard on the radio. In a first-gen household that mainly enjoyed Iranian music, Shania Twain, and the Bee Gees, these ads educated me and expanded my musical horizons.
The first time I heard Luther Vandross was in the Time-Life Ultimate Love Songs commercial, singing “Here and Now,” and I immediately knew I loved his sound. I could feel his gravitas even through mono speakers. An 80s CD compilation ad introduced me to Tears for Fears. The opening bars of “Shout” lingered with me and still feel as intense and impactful whenever I hear that song comes on. Pure Moods taught me Enigma and Enya and made me feel like I was a worldly, new-age goddess, all at the tender age of eight — I still feel that way when I listen to this genre. When these ads came on, I’d write down song titles and artists in a notebook so I wouldn’t forget them, making my own analog music library.
I’m consumed by the thought of these commercials for a few different reasons. I can’t tell if it says more about my eagerness to absorb any bit of music in any place or about the power of music — even a few seconds of it in a corny ad — to resonate and stay with you. I think about how lucky some people are to grow up in households full of music, where family members were a constant source of musical education (I was lucky to have this too, but with genres + artists that were less popular culturally). I also think about how music lovers can be snobby about their taste in artists or precious about how they ‘discovered’ them, before they were mainstream. How cool is it that a young kid who wasn’t around for these musical artists, or who wasn’t exposed to a genre in its peak moment, can realize that they love this sound and hold onto it forever?
I don’t think anyone who worked on these cd compilation commercials designed them with education in mind. The small child (or grown up! or someone’s auntie!) hearing these artists for the first time likely isn’t going to be the person calling the 1-800 number on the screen to place an order. I’m guessing their goal was to try to give existing fans of specific genres and artists what they wanted at the time: all of ‘their’ music in one easy place. All I can say with certainty was that I hope I’m not the only one. I hope there are other people out there who also discovered artists and songs they loved from these commercials. Sharing a few of my favorite ads below — leave a comment if this sparked any memories for you.