(To our Tumblr followers: we read you on the feed side b/c Cindy really loathes using the Tumblr interface for reading posts.)
Q: What is the song in the McDonald’s (MCD) commercial that shows the winners and losers for a young soccer league?
Trus Thies, Hacienda Heights, Calif.
A: The heartwarming ad features the 1968 song A Minha Menina (Portuguese for “my girl”) by Brazilian band Os Mutantes, which is still around and touring. It provides an upbeat track for the ad about a kids soccer championship. The winning team gloats with trophies in hand. The losers suffer the agony of defeat until a parent shows up with Happy Meals that make the winners envious.
Gabe McDonough, senior producer of music and integration for DDB, Chicago, discovered the song in the 1990s on a mix tape made by a friend. He was reminded of it recently when Os Mutantes played in Chicago.
“(The band is) kind of underground, and people in the know knew about them,” says McDonough. “The guitar line is taunting, and that’s the secret hook to it. “
But of course he heard it on a mixtape in the 1990s! (If you didn’t see this commercial ad nauseam during the Olympics, it’s a bit startling. I don’t really associate this song with … children.)