A “radical” cereal advert which featured The Rolling Stones is still surprising fans decades on from release.
A tangible link to the Rice Krispies cereal and the Mick-Jagger fronted group can be found in an advert which was broadcast in 1964. Brian Jones would co-write the jingle with the J. Walter Thompson ad agency. Though the advert would only run once, it has since been uploaded to YouTube, where fans of The Rolling Stones were surprised to find a link between the Wild Horses hitmakers and Kellogg’s. The use of Jones’ music, who was at this point a member of the band, was described as a “radical” decision to make at the time, given the band’s reputation. A fan wrote: “Considering the Stones’ reputation at the time, it was pretty radical for J Walter Thompson to have used their music in a commercial at all, let alone getting them to write original material for it.
“I remember thinking at the time, ‘that can’t really be the Stones, can it?’ Unless I’m mistaken, it was to remain a unique example for several years to come. I can’t recall any contemporary pop acts featuring in ads until Honeybus’ Can’t Let Maggie Go was used to promote Mother’s Pride bread in 1968 (and even then, I think it was a cover version).”
Another viewer added: “It really does swing! I’m inclined to agree that it is certainly better than the overblown stuff they turn out these days.” A third person was thoroughly unimpressed, writing: “Does not get me in the mood to eat Rice Krispies for breakfast at all.”
Other viewers have since defended the band for taking on the work, which is a far cry from their days recording Paint It Black and Mother’s Little Helper. One speculative fan wrote: “They weren’t big yet. They needed the money. Bryan Cranston did a Preparation H commercial once. Does that detract from Breaking Bad?”
The band would, of course, release some better songs than the cereal jingle, with Jagger suggesting one album and song in particular is his favourite. The frontman confirmed he was still fond of the album, and specified a song from it which the band has performed over 800 times.
Jagger, speaking to Rolling Stone Magazine founder Jann Wenner, confirmed Let It Bleed was still a favourite. The track he mentioned was first performed on The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in 1968, shortly before the song was released. Speaking to Wenner, the veteran frontman admitted it’s “a good song” and shared the reason he believed it was so popular with fans. Not only is it a song people can “identify with,” but it’s a piece of music which has a “sing-along chorus”, which makes all the difference.
Jagger named You Can’t Always Get What You Want as the song which best defines Let It Bleed, an album he still says is one of his “favourites”. Speaking of the song, Jagger said: “It’s a good song, even if I say so myself.” He was then asked why it was so popular, to which he suggested Jack Nitzsche was a big help.
Jagger explained: “‘Cause it’s got a very sing-along chorus. And people can identify with it: No one gets what they always want. It’s got a very good melody. It’s got very good orchestral touches that Jack Nitzsche helped with. So it’s got all the ingredients.”
Speaking of the song in a separate interview, Jagger added it was a difficult one for drummer Charlie Watts to get the hang of. Jagger explained: “You Can’t Always Get What You Want was something I just played on the acoustic guitar — one of those bedroom songs.
“It proved to be quite difficult to record because Charlie couldn’t play the groove, and so Jimmy Miller had to play the drums. I’d also had this idea of having a choir, probably a gospel choir, on the track, but there wasn’t one around at that point. Jack Nitzsche, or somebody, said that we could get the London Bach Choir, and we said, ‘That will be a laugh.’”
You can watch The Rolling Stones’ Rice Krispies commercial below.
