Months before releasing their eponymous debut in 1964, the Rolling Stones were commissioned to come up with a jingle for the popular cereal brand, Rice Krispies. Written by Brian Jones along with advertising executive J. Walter Thompson, the 26-second jingle “Wake Up in the Morning,” features the words “Snap,” “Crackle,” and “Pop”—Wake up in the morning there’s a snap around the place / Wake up in the morning there’s a crackle in your face / Wake up in the morning there’s a pop that really says—and first aired on television in the UK in June of 1964.
Many years later, moments after Brian Johnson was asked to audition as the new vocalist of AC/DC in London in March of 1980, he received a phone call from Monty Python music producer Andre Jacquemin, who offered him £350 to sing a Hoover vacuum cleaner commercial.
Though Johnson initially turned down the AC/DC audition, he called them back and went ahead with it since he was going to London for Hoover and blew the band away with his renditions of Tina Turner’s “Nutbush City Limits” and the band’s 1977 song “Whole Lotta Rosie.”
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In 2000, KISS‘s Paul Stanley sang proudly for the nearly 200-year-old brand of American coffee. Folgers stirs inside of me, and I know what I can be / The limit is the sky, hey, world watch me fly sings Stanley in a very unexpected commercial.
Since the 1960s, more classic rockers have had their turn singing commercial jingles for popular brands, promoting everything from soda and deodorant to cars and more products.
Here are seven more blasts from the past—from the late ’60s—featuring The Who, Jefferson Airplane, and Iron Butterfly, among others, in some unforgettable commercial spots.
1. Falstaff Beer / Cream (1967)
In 1967, Cream‘s Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton, and Ginger Baker wrote a jingle for a radio commercial for Falstaff Beer. The beer that can slake any thirst, any thirst / The beer you reach for first / When you want to quench your thirst Bruce sings in the ad. The song was later released on Cream’s 1997 compilation Those Were the Days.
Founded in 1903, the Falstaff Brewing Corporation, now owned by Pabst Brewing Company, was a major brewery in America by the mid-’60s and for many decades until it went out of production in 2005.
2. Great Shakes / The Who (1967)
The Who were no strangers to doing some commercial ads by the late 1960s. In 1967, the band played around with two Coca-Cola ads in the UK and then came up with an entire batch of jingles for more popular brands. Most appear on the band’s The Who Sell Out, a compilation of songs cut by fake public service announcements and commercials, including one for “Heinz Baked Beans.”
In the band’s Great Shakes commercial, the Who highlights the milk chocolate and cherry vanilla shake flavors, while late drummer Keith Moon even shares a few words in between the jingle. “So thick it stands up to the straw,” says Moon before yelling, “Great Shakes.”
The Who’s Great Shakes commercial was later released on the 2009 deluxe edition of the album.
3. Levi’s / Jefferson Airplane (1967)
White Levi’s come in black, blushing bravo blue / I love you, Grace Slick sings in this 1967 commercial for the denim brand by Jefferson Airplane. The 1950s through the ’70s were a high point for Levi’s, already popularized by Hollywood actors like Marlon Brando in The Wild One and Marilyn Monroe in her final film, The Misfits, and by jeans-wearing musicians like Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones—that revealing Sticky Fingers cover—among other artists who embraced the brand at the time.
4. Pepsi / The Turtles (1967)
By 1967, the Turtles were on a streak with hits like “She’d Rather be With Me” and their No. 1 “Happy People,” all while the cola brands were in the midst of fierce competition. PepsiCo hoped to capture the younger audience by having the Turtles sing a little jingle. The band is seen recording the song in the studio with Howard Kaylan singing The taste leaves the others cold / Pepsi pours it on.
5. Ban Roll-On, Iron Butterfly (1968)
The heavier drench of psychedelic rock may not come to mind when thinking of deodorant, but Ban had other ideas when they enlisted Iron Butterfly to record an ad for their roll-on and spray in 1968. It was already a big year for the band, known for “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” the title track of their album written by late singer Doug Ingle.
In the comical commercial, doctors appear to be performing surgery and have their Ban within reach as Ingle’s signature baritone croons Ban won’t wear off as the day wears on / Ban gets you through the longest day / Ban has the stuff to stay and stay.
[RELATED: Remember When: The Rolling Stones Made a Rice Krispies Cereal Commercial]
6. Pontiac / Paul Revere & the Raiders (1969)
To promote The Judge model in 1969, Pontiac called on Paul Revere & The Raiders, who already had hits with “Kicks,” “Just Like Me,” and “Hungry.” To kick off the Judge campaign, keyboardist Paul Revere Dick and vocalist Mark Lindsay came up with a jingle for the car brand called “Judge GTO Breakaway” and can be seen in their Revolutionary War-era garb singing through all the features of the car as it drives down a desert road.
7. Coca-Cola / The Moody Blues (1969)
Dozens of artists made the rounds in Coca-Cola commercials from the New Seekers’ 1971 “hilltop” classic “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing,” Dutch “Radar Love” prog rockers Golden Earrring, and everyone from Elton John, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Whitney Houston, Paul Abdula, and more singing for Coke throughout the decades. Early on, the Moody Blues even had a go at a Coca-Cola commercial in 1969.
In the ad, Moody Blues vocalist Denny Laine sings Things go better with Coca-Cola / Things go better with Coke before speaking “You never get tired of the taste.”
Photo: The Moody Blues, circa 1970 (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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