Corporate Anthems - theme songs of big, soul-less businesses
Art-prankster Johannes Grenzfurthner of monochrom storms the front doors of various multinational corporations to ask employees (and random folk on the street) if they're aware that these companies have "corporate anthems." Yes, theme songs, sometimes official, sometimes unofficial, always painfully cheesy.
KPMG boasts a particularly heinous ditty, and while renditions sometimes pop up on YouTube, none can be quite so rich as the one we paid an Argentinian street musician $20 to sing. "KPMG, we're strong as can be -- a dream of power and energy!" Bet you $20 the song sticks in your brain longer than you'd like.
Johannes explains, "I told all of the would-be anthem singers that I was interviewing them for an Austrian economics journal called 'Wir kriegen euch' (We will get you, in German)."
Link to previous Boing Boing tv episodes featuring Johannes and the monochrom crew.
the latest
the latest
There is a page of old IBM anthems out there somewhere. 'Scuse me while I whip this out... http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/music/music_clips.html
'
Appalachian State University has one that's so bad you almost wonder if it's fake (it's not):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pVENWl8uBeg
Long time listener, first time caller. I would be willing to trade theme songs, wait... pay to get rid of my current theme song, to anyone interested. My friends sing it to me relentlessly. I can't wear my work badge out to lunch for fear of spontaneous arias in line at Subway. It chases me down like a dog in the woods. Here, in my favorite of the hundreds of recreations on youtube, is our song brought to you by japanimation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzxaRooj5P8
It's hard to beat the law firm anthem "Everyone's a Winner at Nixon Peabody" (mp3)
And then there are the various Wal Mart annual meeting musicals and whatnot.
Perfectly execrable! Thanks!
Have you heard the Facebook Anthem? It denounces rather than promotes a corporate entity:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZzP_69ZTFk
I think soul-less songs for "politics without content" are even worse.
The two competing italian parties are "battle it out" with
Berlusconi:
Veltroni:
Ups, failed in HTML again, italian politics links are here :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSyKK3fStPY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0UBZ0z0bvo
On a related theme, there's also a Wikipedia entry on corporate musicals:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_musicals
@Micah:
I had know idea a law firm could have so much soul! "The word is out, we're a happenin' place to be" indeed!
I wonder what BMW's anthem is? Xeni, do you know?
Who needs stinky anthems when we can have real fun ?
yes, a shameless plug, but you'll thank me for it :)
I agree with #11. And what's with the Wacky-German-Visiting-US pattern (previous episodes featured another supposedly German/French dickhead)? I'm pretty sure BMW wouldn't like to see their ads embedded in anything like this a bit closer to home ;)
Haha. So I'm German. Please don't tell Austrian immigration. But whatever. It's Schengen zone anyways...
Damn you all... damn you all to hell... now I have that damned... song... stuck... right up HERE... in my cerebral cortex... like some parasitic fungus that's making me want to pick up my old Fender Malibu... and start... strummin'...
Ohmygod, my lil' sister works for KPMG. She is going to get a kick out of this, as am I for every time I see her in the future I get to harass her for working at a company that has its own cheesy theme song.
Then again, she does get a month of vacation time each year, a free expense account and makes about 2x what I make. Humph... I wonder if KPMG is hiring?
Look at comment #11:
I agree with #11.
Obviously the poster doesn't agree with himself, he agrees with a comment I made questioning the quality of BBtv in a constructive and well-argumented way. But my comment has been removed, as you can see -- are you not allowed to discuss the quality of posts? I do not see this in any of the policies for this site, and I am shocked, and need verification that BoingBoing doesn't censor reasonably worded comments that draws the quality of posts into question. Can somebody please fill me in on this? I would be very thankful.
Well, first of all KPMG isn't a corporation. It's an LLP, a limited liability partnership, and is not publicly owned or held. Secondly the video says that KPMG headquarters in LA. The operations hq of KPMG in the US is in Montvale, NJ, with the flagship office being in NYC. Lastly, that anthem was only used for some overseas meeting more than 10 years ago.
That said it is still a heinous song,
I again agree with DjCoolLemonade, why do comments get lost? And why doesn't the comment numbering stay put...it is really confusing trying to follow a conversation...