Songs from TV commercials

Ever just sitting there minding your own business, watching TV, when -- Bam! -- you get hit with a commercial that contains an awesome song you've never head before and absolutely love, love, LOVE? Just because it's new to you, don't assume the song was written and performed just for the commercial. Because my preferred genre of music apparently matches that of Madison Avenue ad execs, many of those tunes are already on my iPod. So search no more, here are the songs you've been wondering about.

1. Heineken

You know that commercial where everyone is having a blast at a party you wish you were invited to? You see a beautiful blonde with a helium-inspired voice leading the festivities and suddenly you're craving a cold one. That, my friends, is successful advertising. The song is "The Golden Age," and the singer is Mette Lindberg, who fronts The Astroid Galaxy Tour, a Danish alt-pop band. Here's the clip:

2. Captain Morgan

These guys are brilliant! They've not only selected primo tracks to back each of their commercials, but they've managed to create a series of little episodes that impart a cool image led by a cool character that men want to be like and women want to be with. 

This commercial is called "Glass," and is set in Santo Domingo in 1661. The featured song is "Ball and Biscuit," by The White Stripes: 

3. Captain Morgan

The captain just keeps on coming at us. "Ride Home" is set in Hispaniola in 1661, presumably a big year for pirate hijinx. The background music is a 1977 Iggy Pop song called "The Passenger."

4. JC Penney

Regina Spektor is among the most talented, entertaining singers and musicians on the planet today. So JC Penney played it right when they set a commercial to her quirky "Music Box" from 2006:

5. Traveler's Insurance 

Traveler's has a bunch of cute commercials starring dog actors, all set to great music. "Trouble," by Ray LaMontagne, provides the soundtrack for "Prized Possession," the ad about a scruffy dog trying to find the safest hiding spot for his bone.

6. Esurance

The catchy guitar instrumental featured in the Esurance "Trust" commercials is an oldie by Chet Atkins called "Jam Man":

7. Citi

You know that commercial where the woman says her boyfriend wanted to buy her a "rock," but she opted instead for another kind of rock and ended up balanced precariously atop a rock formation oh, about 25 miles above terra firma? Well, I scoured the Internet and can't find an official Citi version of the ad, so here instead is the official song from the band's YouTube channel --  "Into the Wild" by LP:

Those are currently my 7 favorites. Add yours in the comments section below.