Ford's incessant, you-can't-escape-it ad campaign with Taylor Hicks is Chinese water torture - you know it's coming, you just don't know exactly when.
I'm not a fan of American Idol by any means, but I thought Taylor Hicks was a breath of fresh air just because he wasn't one of the wailing, caterwauling, warbling, over-emotive divas that the show is usually responsible for churning out. This includes the big dude who won a while back whose name I completely forget because he's done absolutely nothing since winning, while the little pixie Clay Aiken who came in second actually had an entire career since then. Now, however, thanks to Ford's ambush marketing campaign, I am eagerly awaiting the day when Taylor Hicks completely disappears.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments76 - Diane
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS ARTICLE. I KNOW YOU HAVE HEARD THERE IS NO BAD PUBLICITY. SO THANK YOU FOR ALL THE ATTENTION YOU HAVE BROUGHT TO TAYLOR. PEOPLE ALL OVER THE COUNTRY WILL BE READING AND RESPONDING. KEEP THE ARTICLES COMING. THE MORE NEGATIVE THE BETTER. THIS REALLY GETS PEOPLE FIRED UP AND KEEPS TAYLORS NAME IN THE SPOTLIGHT. THIS FEELS LIKE AN EARLY CHRISTMAS. BLESS YOU!!!!!!!
77 - Crasey65
Wow! Thanks for the publicity for Taylor. Positive or negative it makes people aware of Taylor Hicks. And btw Taylor already has 2 CD's out, although done on a low budget, they're fanTAYstic. Not karaoke renditions of others music, Taylor originals.
I'm not quite sure what others don't get, but hmmmm...AI winner, Ford commercials, Peoples hottest bachelor, concerts, tour buses, CD's, enourmous loyal fan base...and all this from natural born talent. I wouldn't look for Taylor to go away too soon.
And shame on you all for watching TV enough to catch the commercials when you should be out enjoying the summer.
78 - Clarkson Fan
Dude, you have far too much time on your hands. Get a life.
79 - kll
I'm thinking the use of the word "pixie" for Aiken isn't referring to his height. If ya know what I mean. Oh, and Kelly Clarkson's not cute. Sorry.
Seen the ad a lot. Honestly, don't think much about it. Other than it not being effective.
80 - Eve
I certainly agree...I can't stand Taylor Hicks. All he does is dance around like a drunk guy at a wedding. He is certainly not good looking either and he needs to lose a few pounds. To tell you the truth...I would rather have seen Katherine McPhee on the Ford Commercial..at least she can sing.
81 - Birthday girl
I like Taylor Hicks, I turn 49 today and if I could have a great birthday present I would take him singing that tune in front of me, I watch tv and some of you are really going overboard on how much commercial comes on. I wish I was the blonde he was looking for.
82 - zinger
Let's not blame Taylor for the crass commercialism that pervades our culture. You cannot blame him for entering the contest and for winning. As the winner, he's obligated to do certain things, including the Ford ad. I wouldn't hold it against him. I do think Taylor is a genuine person and he will have more freedom in the future to show that.
I hate commercials and consumerism and commericialism. It's taking over our culture and becoming hard to escape.
I have only seen the commercial 2 or 3 times. Either I'm not watching as much tv as you or I watch different channels. I watch Bravo a lot, especially Project Runway lately, so maybe that's one reason. I don't watch most of the mainstream shows so that probably helps. I also tape everything on my dvr and fast forward through all the commercials. If I happen to see Taylor's commercial, I stop and watch it.
The whole AI show is commercialism and manipulation. Yet I can't blame the talented kids on the show for wanting a chance to start a career that uses their talents. So I try to look beyond the cheap commercialism of the show and give the singers a chance. Taylor included. And by the way, he was my favorite. I enjoy him, he's fun, and I look forward to his cd.
83 - Joy
A really great thing about this commerical is that you can recognize it in fast forward. I usually watch TV with a TiVo delay and miss the commercials. This one, however, I click back to real speed and watch. Ford really should sponser a weekly Taylor Hicks TV show. Now that would be on my season pass!!!!!
84 - Michael J. West
I can understand where you are coming from, and I feel sorry for you. I "passed" on Elvis, The Beatles and other "real" stars. I thought they were untalented, boring, flash-in-the pans, and I couldn't understand what all the hubbub was about.
But, I couldn't "pass" on Taylor Hicks. He grabbed me from the git-go!
Well, you fucked up so badly on Elvis and The Beatles that saying Taylor Hicks "grabbed you from the git-go" pretty much damns him, doesn't it?
85 - Cheryl
I think Taylor rocks and I will RUSH to watch
everything he is in. I already have my timer set to record July 21 - Taylor on GM America!!! Go
Taylor - We LOVE you - and thanks Tom for keeping Taylor in the SPOTLIGHT!!! I too am blonde and wish I were the mystery girl he saw on that flight.
ROCK ON TAYLOR!!! CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEW CD!!!
86 - Carol
K*** FYI: Taylor Hicks in only 29. Don't let his gray hair fool you. And the Ford song will not be on his album..duh. This is only a "ford jingle" Yea, it's a bad song but it's not Taylor's fault. He's only getting more money and publicity..no matter what he sings. Remember what MUTE means???
E** - Face it. You just don't like Taylor's style of dancing. The world does not like different. Accept him as who he is or just move on for goodness sake. Why slash him? Nobody is making you watch or listen to him. As for his weight - he has lost weight and looks great. If you don't like him - move on!!!!!!!!
87 - sheila
Two things, first, I am a TV aholic if possible (24/7 ) and I have never seen this conmerial. But as I am sitting here reading these messages, I can't help but ask; so what, what in the hell difference does it make. Turn the channel, get up, do something eles. Ford is getting exaclty what it wants atracting viewers and requardless of what you say, Ford has won. Point, I just spent close to an hour reading and writing about something I claim to care nothing about. This is what Ford wanted and we all gave it to them.
88 - Mark Saleski
i'm pretty sure i heard that Taylor Hicks is going to do some guest vocals on the next Rush album.
89 - Whatever
Personally, I hate all commercials and channel surf when they come on. It's really not that hard, you should try it.
90 - Tom Johnson
Truly stunning. Almost 24 hours later and no sign of a shred of sense of humor from the Soul Patrol. You people seriously need to lighten up. Thanks for the entertainment, however! This is awesomely funny.
91 - Tom Johnson
Guest vocals, Mark? Geddy's not even singing on the next one - it's all Taylor!
92 - Mark Saleski
i'm soooo lookin' forward to it. just imagine their killer version of Ray Charles' "Hit The Road Jack"!
dang!!
93 - Tom
Who is the joke on the Ford commercial that looks like he is cramped over with the intestinal flu? Is that suppose to be dancing? Twirl ballerina, keep twirling. LMAO. I haven't laughed so hard since I saw Elaine dance on Seinfield. He looks like he definitely in pain too. What up with all the facial contortions? Is he trying to convince us that he is feeling the song? We mute the commercial in my house unless someone hasn't seen it. Then we say, wait you got to watch this joker. The usual response is "WT@##**$@ was that?? LMAO. Thanks for the laughs Ford but sure not going make me come buy a truck.
94 - Mark Saleski
here comes the weirdest comment on the thread...
...ready?
i actually like Taylor Hicks.
seriously.
95 - Rebecca
Do you need to get your claws out? I am not a couch potato. I simply enjoy watching Red Sox games at night. It seems NESN might only have the money to run about four commercials on a reel, Mr. Hicks and Dr. Z are two of them. I don't happen to be an American Idol fan, though I like Kelly Clarkson's latest CD, I think she has wisely broken out of that cookie cutt mold A.I. creates.
96 - Tom Johnson
Oh, Mark, I can't possibly respect you after this.
97 - Mark Saleski
don't worry, it's not like i own a soul patrol t-shirt or anything.
98 - DJRadiohead
Tom, if I hadn't already lost all respect for him this would do the trick.
I take some of that back. His role in helping me find Guster earns him many, many points.
99 - Mark Saleski
oh jeezuz, all you cultural elitists make me sick!
;-)
100 - DJRadiohead
Taylor Hicks is pretty far down the list of elitism. I mean... damn, dude.
Back to the Guster now...
101 - kfc - a Clay fan
It appears that a lot of the criticism about Taylor is about his dancing style..lol..well guys, look in the mirror the next time you go dancin'....it isn't always pretty! How many times do you actually see a guy smiling when he's dancing? Very seldom.
Taylor dances with joy and abandon and smiles the whole time he's doing so. He may not have the most polished vocals but he certainly has the best attitude and sense of fun; his hard work brought him to this point and I'm sure will carry him to however far he, himself, wants to go. He's being true to himself and that's all that matters.
Clay is definitely not a 'little pixie'..no matter what you intended those words to mean. He's a 'giant' of a man with a heart twice as huge as his feet lol Besides his outstanding talent, he has a wicked sense of humour...from which we've coined the word 'snark'. To all those who don't like him...'tis a pity'; to all those who do, altogether now....'how soon is 'quite soon'? lol
Good luck, Taylor! Good luck, Ruben, Clay and Kellie! It was great seeing you all suport Kellie when she appeared in Raleigh.
Taylor, maybe you and the 'First man of soul', Ruben, should consider doing a song together. I think it'd be awesome.
Red Deer Alberta Canada
102 - kfc - a Clay fan
This commercial is here to stay for a good long time, I fear, with no abatement of its "every commercial break" schedule in sight. I just wish, if we have to see it so often, it could have been another American Idol - Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood, perhaps. At least they're cute..TJ
Ummmmmmmm, sure wish it could be Clay Aiken....there's a couple women (like..500,000) who'd be happy to watch such a commercial several hundred times before making a decision whether or not to buy a Ford truck.......I hear the F150 is the best selling truck ever....I bet Clay wouldn't remind you of a pixie if you saw him sitting in a 'BIGGGG Truck' 100 times a day...more like a BIGGGGG stud! Eh, girls?
Maybe we should all write to Ford.....
103 - Star_Gazer
I have one show that I watch regularly - so you think you can dance. Since the show is produced by the same people who do AI the commercial is played ad nauseum. It is on during EVERY single commercial break (which there are way too many of). I mute commercials all the time and use the break to do odd chores. However, I am absolutely sick of this commercial. I do not have any negative feelings for Taylor or Ford, rather the entire advertising community. I understand that the industry is using this time to feed the consumer mentality, but I have to say that enough is enough.
I don't believe that I purchase ANYTHING because somebody on TV told me to. I am a big girl and have a mind of my own. Play commercials - okay - but cut the repetitiveness.
104 - Girl
Okay, seriously dude, you need to get a life. I mean, who blogs about a commercial that you hate? I mean, this commercial isn't going to break Taylor Hicks. He's an amazing singer and an amazing person and you should really just sit down and listen to his music. His music is GREAT and he is a great musician. I mean, if you hate the commercial so much, just mute it. I mean, can you really imagine Clay Aiken signing about a huge Ford truck? No offence to any Clay fans, but...seriously.
105 - Shawn
Has the world gone crazy? People killing and hurting each other every wear you look, and now have we stooped so low we are bashing idols. They make us happy and smile. God knows there is little of that going on now. Find something important and bitch about that, we need to stop this madness that is killing humanity and let the things that make us happy shine through. So smile and listen to some good music. My choice obiously is Taylor, so on go the headphones and off goes the news.
106 - Saxxxton
If Taylor H. is a "Soooouuuuuuuuuul" singer then
McDonalds is a steakhouse.
107 - Rebecca
Marvin Gaye, Jackie Wilson and Otis Redding are rolling over in their graves--that's soul singing, if Hicks is anything, he's a pop singer. Sorry, guys.
108 - anon
I like how the author and commenters claim they're not fans or they hate the show, yet they go on to describe it and its contestants in detail. I have never seen the show and never will. The reason I'm here reading this is that I hate that commercial too and it is played all the time where I live too. It is way over the top and very annoying. Gotta love the mute button.
109 - Linnea
The person who got paid to write this crap is obviously getting paid too much and knows absolutely nothing about Taylor Hicks real talent. I sure would like to know what he/she considers entertainment. He/she needs to get a new job.
110 - penny.cyn
You know, let's forget the fact that you don't know squat about Taylor Hicks (do you really think he wrote that song and would YOU turn down a million bucks for shaking YOUR.....digit at the camera?). Good for you. To each his own.
But to go to the extreme of wishing someone dead is really unacceptable, twisted, sick, & extremely distasteful. People in this country are waayyy too aggressive & violent without that kind of language. Better to shake a finger than show your a$$.
111 - Elizabeth
Tom Johnson, get a life.
112 - Lauren
To the writer and those who hate Taylor:
If ya'll don't like him then why bother to write and brew about him? Obviously he's doing something right if he's got haters blogging about him...
113 - Marie aka TaylorsGaPeach
I jump up and RUN to the television when I hear this commercial coming on. I simply cannot get enough of Taylor Hicks. Maybe when YOU make a commercial I'll reach for the mute. Cheers.
114 - JenPA
Tom,
You say Soul Patrol has no sense of humor? Well try writing something with humor in it, dumbass.
115 - Stacy
Tom, you are absolutely right. I live in the Philly area and they run this s...tin' commercial on our local TV stations WAY too often. It usually runs about 5 or 6 times an hour on ANY station right now. It's so annoying! I hate it! TH can't sing and he can't dance either. I have to admit that I hated Ford before, and would never buy another one, and this commercial has really clinched it for me.
116 - susie aka saoirse
Nobody is asking you to go out and buy a truck just because of the commercial. Taylor is one hell of a talented guy. So hit the mute button if you must...better yet, why don't you hop on your "tricycle" ride off into the horizon,
Only grown men drive trucks, and your not one if you can make the "die" comment.
So Tom Johnson aka Pixie "Get a life". How's that for having a sense of humor.
117 - Chris Beaumont
This entire thread makes me smile.
118 - BamaMamma
Dear Joseph, So sorry to soil your virgin ears. Last time I looked I was not the only one to use colorful and inappropriate language. I was just very upset that someone could be so crass and unfeeling as to wish someone to be DEAD or even to disappear. Is this an attack on our entire family? So sorry to offend anyone, I didn't know the church lady would be reading this...But I stand my ground as you would if someone verbally attacked someone in your family, so there it is for what it's worth. Thank you Soul Patrol for all your love, devotion and Loyalty, Welcome to our family...As for the rest of you, the next bus leaves at 8:30.....
119 - Dawn
Is it as bad as the "Like A Rock" chevy commercials Bob Seger did a while back? Honestly, it totally ruined Bob Seger for me, which was certainly destined to occur - but the commercial just accelerated the process.
120 - Baronius
My first reaction to the ad was, "oh, Ford got a look-alike". It took me a while to realize it was him. Then, my thought was, "this clown won American Idol? This has got to be some kind of joke...". Seriously, the competition must have been terrible if this guy won.
121 - Sharon
Taylor is the best, if marketed correctly.... he's the long lost Elvis all of us baby boomers have been waiting for. The commercial is being aired a little too frequently for my taste, however, kudos to Ford for using hunky Taylor. We were overjoyed seeing him make it to a big time commercial and will tolerate Ford's over running of it and still smile a smile back at Taylor as he's spinning around the stage having a damn old good time cause he makes us feel like we're in those shoes with him. We love him, we love the way he self confidently played the harmonica approaching the judges down that long hallway. We love how Simon didn't get his way to out him. We love how he sings with his heart and body. Do we want more of him, yeah!!! So maybe Ford marketers can give him a leg up with another promoter and get us some soulful music so we'll have something to sing along to again on the radio. Go Taylor!!!!!
122 - JenPa
For those of you who a blasting Taylor in this thread, I challenge you to listen to Taylor's first 1 cd's "In Your Time" and "Under the Radar". To judge him by this commercial or by the Idol machine is completely shallow.
It wasnt Taylor's stint on AI that sold me on him, it was his original music that allows his talent to shine.
Listen to his original music, if you come back with the same opinion, I'd respect you more for it.
123 - lovedthepurplejacket
PERSONAL ATTACKS NOT ALLOWED?!?!?! What the hell was Tom doing?!?!?! Btw, Taylor Hicks is laughing all the way to the bank!! He's a very talented musician/artist, if you can't understand that or don't 'get' him then don't say anything- you wished the guy dead-- You really need an evaluation!!
124 - Kyle
Man the Soul Patrol scare me! I only watched a bit of American Idol this year and only really liked Chris (by the way if anyone knows is Chris going to make a CD?) But I had no idea Hicks fans were like this. Wow you guys make make the Claymats or whatever they are called look tame. All celebrities get attacted for their tacky comercials or crazy new hairstyles. You might want to learn to lighten up. Taylor can be fun to watch the one note thing he has going on bores me no end to each their own. But if he sticks around I hope he has a thicker skin then his fans because if not and he gets even half the crap that people have thrown at Kelly and Clay he will need heavy drugs to get up in the morning!
125 - Mark
FYI
Kelly Clarkson wrote the song 'Go' two years ago and inked a deal with Ford earlier this year for use of the song. It is the theme song for the Bold Moves campaign. Ford is sponsoring her 'Addicted' tour this summer and will give away a Ford at each show. She has a video for the song too. Go to: fordvehicles.com