As I watched the Oscars last night I was wishing that I was at home, with my Tivo, so I could fast-forward through all the crappy commercials. Then I saw the following JCPenney ad:

(Apologies for crappy audio, listen to the entire song here.)

This song was used in a few JCPenney commercials throughout the Oscar broadcast. I immediately recognized the song—“Killing the Blues” by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss from their album “Raising Sand”. You can buy it, and the rest of the album, from iTunes (and you should, click the album cover below.) A wonderful album across the board, this song stands out as the best track.

Buy now from iTunes

Here are the lyrics, if you’re into that kind of thing:

Leaves were falling, just like embers,
In colors red and gold, they set us on fire
Burning just like moonbeams in our eyes.

Somebody said they saw me, swinging the world by the tail
Bouncing over a white cloud, killing the blues.

Now I’m guilty of something…
I hope you never do
Because there is nothing
Any sadder than losing yourself in love.

Somebody said they saw me, swinging the world by the tail
Bouncing over a white cloud, killing the blues.

And then you’ve ask me… just to leave you
To set out on my own
And get what I needed.
You want me to find what I’ve already had.

This ad follows the trend JCPenney borrowed from Old Navy over the holidays—using a dramatic song as the only audio throughout a TV spot.

“American Living” is a new JCPenney brand developed by Global Brand Concepts, a division of Polo Ralph Lauren.

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Justin Dickinson

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