Have a listen to the music playing in the background of this commercial and tell me if you recognize the song (you may have to crank up the volume a bit):

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7KaU/internation ... ot-my-name

Redwolf

I can't get that link to work. It says "error loading media". But I think this is the same one on YouTube -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRP3j7L5AT8

I can't hear the song clearly enough, but it does have an Irish ring to it.

Yep, that's it.

The song is Mary Mc Laughlin's rendition of "An Mhaighdean Mhara" from her "Crystal Shoe" album. Her producer was approached by this company some time ago for a license to use about 15 seconds of the song for a "coffee creamer" commercial (actually, it's iced coffee). We weren't sure what the company or the product was, so we've all kind of been keeping a watch out for it.

Last night I was reading on the sofa while Tony was watching "America's Got Talent." I almost didn't notice the commercial at first, because we always hear music in the evenings from the conference center down the road (and, because it's usually either holy roller stuff or really crappy Christian rock, I usually just tune it out). It took me a second to realize that I recognized the song, and that it wasn't coming from the conference center!

The songs on "Crystal Shoe" aren't sung in a traditional style ("An Mhaighdean Mhara" has kind of a country-western lilt to it), which may make it a bit more difficult to recognize. It's actually just a few seconds of the first verse.

We've all been wondering exactly how they would use it, and we've been kind of amused that anyone would associate the song with coffee. I guess someone just decided that it sounded like something they'd like to hear in a coffee shop! In any case, they paid very well for that little snippet of song!

Redwolf

This is the CD it's taken from. Most of the songs are originals, but she has two traditional songs on it (sung in a non-traditional style): An Mhaighdean Mhara and Gabhaim Molta Bríde.

http://www.marymclaughlin.com/index.php ... t/view/1/2

Redwolf

She might get paid on each time the ad is run too.
Great promotion for her.

Well, it would be, except that I don't think anyone who doesn't know her (and you all who read this) know who's singing on the commercial!

Redwolf

Well you never know. If people are interested they will go looking.
We have had requests here in the past for obscure music on computer games etc.
Google might lead them here.

That would be cool.

Redwolf

Cool.

Nowadays, people can do their own research on the internet, but back before the internet there were many cases where people called a TV station to get more info about commercials, especially singers' names or song titles. I know at least one of my Irish language students in Japan had come to the language that way.


The strangest request I ever got was to play uilleann pipes for a Japanese wasabi commercial. Perhaps they felt there was some relationship between that unsettling feeling you get when you first hear the pipes, and the unsettling feeling you get when you eat wasabi.

_________________
[hr]Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher[/hr]
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

My one musical claim to (semi) fame is a recording of "The Parting Glass" I made for the "Clips & Snips" forum, which got picked up as the "between chapters" music for a children's audio book several years ago.

Redwolf