AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" is most commonly known in mainstream culture as a brutal drinking game, but Apple was creative when they used it in the ad for the iPhone 7 to show its waterproof capabilities.
Rock Hits
26 Rock + Metal Songs That Have Been in TV Commercials
Don't you love those moments when you have the television on and one of your favorite songs comes on? Whether you're actively paying attention to whatever is on or you're doing stuff around the house, it's sure to grab your attention.
Using songs in commercials is a great marketing tool because companies can easily attract the audience they're targeting. If it's an ad for a new piece of technology, it's likely to feature some Top 40 song that most young people will know. If it's for a grill or some other type of home improvement, they usually go for the dads and put some classic rock in there.
They're targeting us — we are the dads.
Rock songs have been used in tons of TV commercials. Metal is too sometimes, but it's usually an artist like Metallica, who have fans from all over the rock and metal spectrum.
A lot of commercials that use rock and metal songs are by car manufacturers, but there are some other interesting ones, too. Van Halen's "Right Now" will forever be associated with Crystal Pepsi because of a commercial in the '90s. Geico released a humorous one this year featuring Ratt playing "Round and Round."
Check out 26 commercials featuring rock and metal songs below.
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1
AC/DC, “Thunderstruck”
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2
Motley Crue, “Kickstart My Heart”
This Kia commercial defines going from 0 to 100. It starts off with "Mr. Sandman" by the Chordettes, then switches over to Motley Crue's iconic hit "Kickstart My Heart."
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3
Ratt, “Round and Round”
Geico wants to help you out with your Ratt problem.
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4
Pantera, “I’m Broken”
Carl's Jr. Steakhouse's "Steakhouse Thickburger" is tossed around in slow motion during this ad soundtracked by Pantera's "I'm Broken." Is your mouth watering yet?
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5
Guns N’ Roses, “Welcome to the Jungle”
"Welcome to the Jungle" is played at some point during basically every live sporting event, so it's no surprise that Gatorade used it for this baseball commercial.
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6
Van Halen, “Right Now”
This commercial is a little strange. You would never think it's going to be an ad for Pepsi's special "Crystal" flavor, but it is. "It's everything."
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7
Led Zeppelin, “Rock and Roll”
Cadillac took a fast song to advertise a fast car.
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8
Godsmack, “Awake”
This one's a bit intense. A commercial advertising to enlist in the United States Navy used Godsmack's "Awake."
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9
Scorpions, “Rock You Like a Hurricane”
In case you needed some extra fiber in your life, Fiber One put out this really dramatic commercial featuring "Rock You Like a Hurricane." We never thought a cereal bar could exude so much passion.
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10
Judas Priest, “Breaking the Law”
TV Land used "Breaking the Law" in an ad for their channel. We're not really sure why.
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11
The Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil”
Another dramatic commercial for a car. Can't really expect any less from Mercedes-Benz.
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13
Free, “All Right Now”
Burger King used Free's "All Right Now" for a commercial for their chicken sandwich.
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14
ZZ Top, “No Shame”
"There's no shame in saving money," said the Geico commercial, which features ZZ Top's widely-known "No Shame."
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15
Boston, “More Than a Feeling”
What band could be more fitting to feature in an ad for Boston cream pie-flavored yogurt than… Boston? Yoplait Light took advantage of this, using the sensual "More Than a Feeling."
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16
Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Sweet Home Alabama”
This seems like a missed opportunity since KFC is Kentucky Fried Chicken and not Alabama, but we'll forgive them for it.
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17
Fleetwood Mac, “Go Your Own Way”
"Go Your Own Way" was actually Fleetwood Mac's nice way of singing "piss off," but it's used in an Anoro commercial, which is a treatment for COPD.
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18
Jet, “Are You Gonna Be My Girl”
Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" was used in this colorful iPod commercial. Remember iPods?
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19
Aerosmith, “Sweet Emotion”
Dick's Sporting Goods' "See You Out There" commercial took advantage of Aerosmith's soothing song "Sweet Emotion," which paired well with the aesthetically pleasing outdoor imagery.
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20
Rush, “Fly By Night”
We're all guilty of it. In this Volkswagen commercial, the driver gets caught by pedestrians while going to town singing and air-drumming to Rush's "Fly By Night."
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20
The White Stripes, “Seven Nation Army”
"Seven Nation Army" has been used all over pop culture since its release — television, political events and especially sporting events. So, there are countless commercials it's been featured in, but here it is used to advertise the headphones Beats by Dre.
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21
The All American Rejects, “Move Along”
"Move Along" was used during a commercial for LEGO's "Bionicle Toa Inika."
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22
Thin Lizzy, “The Boys Are Back in Town”
More food. Applebee's featured "The Boys Are Back in Town" for a commercial for their all-you-can-eat specials.
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23
The Ramones, “Blitzkrieg Bop”
GoPro is one of many companies to play "Blitzkrieg Bop" in a commercial.
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24
Transplants, “Diamonds and Guns”
Garnier Fructis went all out with this one — what a song choice for a hair commercial.
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25
Forever the Sickest Kids, “Whoa Oh”
Similarly to Ratt's Geico commercial, the band actually make an appearance in this one. Forever the Sickest Kids are among a couple of bands who've been featured in a Nerf ad — Every Avenue and There for Tomorrow have been as well.
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26
The Romantics, “What I Like About You”
This song has been in tons of commercials, both the original and covers. However, it was licensed in the 1980s to appear in Budweiser commercials.