Dethkomercial
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July 9th, 2008

Dethkomercial

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I had previously mentioned that the airing of a commercial for a video game on stage between bands at the Dethklok concert was… unwelcome at best. Turns out that particular part of the show hasn’t been very well received by the audiences at each of their tour stops. I assume the fire that halted a San Francisco Dethklok show was the result of a disgruntled fan that didn’t want to be sold anything else after purchasing a $30 ticket with $15 in convenient charges, a $25 shirt and several $4 beers.

It was a lot like the first time I saw a commercial at a movie theater instead of just trailers. You’re excited for the entertainment you’ve paid for and are about to enjoy and then something happens to make you feel ashamed and dirty. When they began projecting the advert on a 50 foot wide screen in front of us Josh panicked and began trying to fast forward the concert. I explained that what were were experiencing wasn’t recorded on a Tivo but was actually a live event that couldn’t be time-shifted. He then tried to delete the torrent. I just held him as he acted out his paranoid psychosis  and wept.

I get it. Touring is crazy expensive, and when a corporation approaches you and offers to foot some or all of the bill if you agree to certain impositions on behalf of your audience it’s probably pretty difficult to say no. I guess it just seemed like the kind of thing that would be more at home at a Panic at the Disco show than a Dethklok concert. That logic, and my disapproval, really don’t make any sense seeing as how “Dethklok” is just an advertisement for an ad supported cartoon, DVD’s and other merchandise. Like I said, I actually enjoy their music regardless of their fantastically entertaining television program.

I remember seeing Weezer at the first Honda civic tour in the early 2000’s. That was my first experience with corporate sponsored rock and roll. There were Honda Civics on the floor of the concert that you could sit in. I think there was a mosh pit test drive too. There were tents where I could play Playstation racing games featuring the all new Civic, and informational booths where I could learn more about the ABS brakes, dual airbags, and “roomier than you would think” interior. I got a free Weezer poster at that show. Well, it said “Weezer” in tiny letters. Mostly had a picture of a car. And the name of a car.

In all honesty, I really wasn’t even all that offended at the Dethkomercial. I was just VERY SURPRISED to see it DURING a metal show. That’s all.

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^ 65 Comments...

  1. quoteguy
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Next thing you know, they'll all be thanking corporations in their acceptance speeches for awards they get…
    "I'd like to thank god, mom and and dad, burger king…"

  2. Chad
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Not to bring Dethklok down, it's a funny show and all…

    But, I sort of figured that people who find the music appealing were just a bunch of children who listen to it (along with Dragonforce) as they play Halo on X Box Live.

    I just didn't expect a gimmick "metal" band to become so popular.

    Apologies to any fans of Dethklok's music.

    Please don't kill me.

  3. Chad
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Oh, and I forgot to add..

    I totally lol'd at "Why the two point deduction?"

  4. iptydafu8334
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    What a depressing comic. A very acute sense of resignation and disappointment. Touring's only as expensive as you make it. If you can't book venues on your own and sleep in a van, you're just a pussy who's playing at it. I don't know, playing Dethklok doesn't seem to be very important to the people playing Dethklok. If no one else is going to take ownership, you know it's going to be corporate accounts.

    Oh, and Weezer has always been a little precious for their own good. And the meme'jaculation video was the icing on that cake of suck.

  5. quoteguy
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    And are you sure that thats not really the way "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" goes…?

  6. Chris J
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    They actually did this during the "Montgomery Gentry" concert a couple of years ago in Cheyenne, Wyoming. An old song lyric with the word "whiskey" was replaced with "Jim Beam".

  7. mseliga34611
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    I personally don't like the music to much. I like 80s metal(Metallica, Megadeth, Iron Maiden). The show is funny as hell though.
    I went to a Weird Al concert a few years back and they had no commericals. They didnt have them at the local bar either for Kix.

  8. Griff
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Did you say $4 beers? Wow. Any concert I've been to, they're between $8-$10.

  9. nacho8670
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    I'm totally adopting that rating scale for personal use. It will have to be updated in September, but I don't think the top 3 or 4 spots are in contention.

  10. nacho8670
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    I see what you did there, Joel. ;)

  11. eddie10331
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Because advertising is inevitable, I've learned to expect it and (sort of) deal with it. Not that I'm happy with it, but I cope. That's why I don't mind advertising when it's integrated into the chosen media. Furthermore, as big a surprise as this is, most of the cartoons of our youth were half-hour advertisements for toys (which is PRECISELY the reason the product placement in Transformers, let alone the rest of the movie, didn't bother me).

  12. eddie10331
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Wow, between you, my mother, and myself, that's three people I've met who have heard of Kix.

  13. mseliga34611
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Wow. Thats scary. I live in Maryland and my Mom threw her under where at Steve years ago. Creepy as shit.

  14. mseliga34611
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    I can see Joel putting a bunch of ads in the comic now a-la Waynes World. "Its like, people only do stuff casue they get paid. And thats sad."

  15. aj5558
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    I think I too see what you think you saw. ;)

    You're tricksy, Joel. Very tricksy.

  16. aj5558
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    I KNOW this comic is BS. No one in their right mind would pay so much a month for an Elantra, OAC or not.

  17. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    You caught me. Ive never bought a beer at a concert. $4 sounded about right.

  18. troy6626
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Joel man, what were you thinking? This would have been the perfect opportunity to pimp up your own awesome shit (The Vault and the new store) right in the middle of the comic and have it be both ironic and funny as shit! Ah well, you'll get the hang of this marketing stuff soon. Or starve.

  19. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Not entirely sure.

  20. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Maybe thats how it started but when Im looking for something to listen to on the iPod I will say "yeah, its time for some Dethklok." It may be a joke, but it's real music.

  21. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Perfect example. Dethklok are our Spinal Tap. I also really enjoy most of Spinal Tap's music as well.

  22. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    If you need me to fill in the gaps just let me know. It's the Metallectric system.

  23. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    "If you can't book venues on your own and sleep in a van, you're just a pussy who's playing at it."

    LOL. I know at least a few bands that would disagree.

  24. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    I saw an Aerosmith concert sponsored by Dodge and they actually had trucks hanging all over the place.

  25. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Weird Al's got more moral fortitude.

  26. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    I must be missing something.

  27. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    It was much later that I learned that the toys came first in the 80's. I had no idea they were designing transformers toys THEN writing them into the show. Also the fact that GI Joe made such a big deal about getting new vehicles and such didnt phase me at all as a child.

  28. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    little.
    yellow.
    different.

  29. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Its a fine line between marketing and whoring. Im not opposed to either, really.

  30. john_darc6624
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    I like how Eli just knows that AJFA is two points lower than MoP.

  31. tindomiel30091
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Damn! I didn't even catch that the first time.

  32. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    What!? I have no idea whats going on.

  33. Janell
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Yeah I went to see Simple Plan (don't judge! I was young!) a few years ago and Verizon had done the tour… there was a giant screen where you could send a text to and have it up on the screen…. I couldn't believe they would stoop to that but alas… nothing is too low for any big company.

  34. eddie10331
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Didn't phase me then, and really, now, it's all about not letting those sorts of things phase me, so long as I can find some sort of justification.

  35. larnsturt6109
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    WKDF, a radio station in Nashville, took great delight for years in inserting their call letters into any song that said "radio" with a favorable light. It was annoying as hell.

  36. larnsturt6109
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Me neither. Ha.

  37. nacho8670
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    C'mon, who doesn't know that? But for the win, which is in between them?

  38. nacho8670
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Oh no, I've started a conundrum spiral…

  39. aaron6928
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    I went to see Radiohead at a Verizon venue and they had the text screen up at first. It scared the hell out of me but then a message popped up right before they came on stage that said at their request the text screens wouldn't be used.

  40. aaron6928
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    I'm a little disappointed that Dethklok would do something like that. Metallica it wouldn't surprise me. Lars needs his gold plated shark bar.

  41. tindomiel30091
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    The subtle irony of including Apple products in a comic about product placement?

  42. Andrew
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    They are $4-5 at most metal venues in SF, at least. I'm sure you could be a broker and go pay $10 for an amstel somewhere, or a shot of vodka, but I haven't been forced to do that here yet.

  43. fraktruck8125
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    having been to only 1.5 concerts in my lifetime I cant say Im a music snob, but I will comment to the overcommercialization that seems omnipresent in our society >.<

    and with the olympics coming up my brain is already reeling

  44. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    "Ride The Lightning"

  45. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    1. Master Of Puppets
    2. Ride The Lightning
    3. Kill em All
    4. And Justice For All
    5. Black – Metallica
    6. Garage, Inc.
    7. S&M
    8. Reload
    9. Load
    –(The new one?)–
    10. St Anger

  46. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    HAHAH! I usually draw people with the products they actually own, as I did in this case.

  47. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Well Im sure Adult Swim/Cartoon Network/Viacom made all the arrangement.

  48. nacho8670
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Win!!

  49. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Once you know the first 5, the rest is a no brainer.

  50. nacho8670
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    You get bonus points in my book for including Garage, Inc. and S&M, and especially for giving them the places you did. As much as I might personally like Load/Reload, I can't in good conscience put them ahead of any of the rest. m/

  51. aaron6928
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    I'm sure you're right. It still sucks. I wish they were the type of band that had enough power to say fuck that bullshit.

  52. mysterioust5403
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    i can imagine james hetfield getting to the point where he would say that. Also "mad props" on the Weezer reference.

  53. mysterioust5403
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Poor lars he had to settle for the silver plated shark bar

  54. doug5364
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Actually, I'm pretty sure it's a line from Village Green Preservation Society.

  55. doug5364
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    HijiNKS ENSUE: A wholly-owned subsidiary of Apple, Inc.

  56. doug5364
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    "Ni-ee-yi-ee-ine"

    Excellent!

  57. adam_myatt8577
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Yeah I def. won't be able to hear the sweater song in the same light. Also, I just finished the 3rd season of BSG and while it was exciting finding out 4 of the final 5, the fucking version of all along the watchtower was fucking retarted… And almost ruined the whole experience.

  58. diel
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Not really related but something for you toast/BSG aficionado to ponder, how much is $70 really? http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/07/10/cool-stuff-fr...

  59. Evelyn
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Consider also that Metalocalypse has so much product placement in it already (Gibson, Krank). It's not far-fetched to have a commercial in a show. I think the difference is the product being sold. For example, an ad featuring daggers or leather pants might have been a better choice. Or coffee.
    The first rule of marketing is to know thy audience, and the marketers failed there.

  60. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Im glad you brought up coffee. I need to remember that the pilot of the freaking show was about selling out for money. That should help me keep things in perspective.

    Also I think the marketing team was right on… for adult swim fans. I dont think they realized how many actual metal heads were going to be at these shows.

  61. mseliga34611
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Same thing happened with Spinal Tap in the 80s. They did concerts and stuff all the time.

  62. eddie10331
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    My mom has vivid memories of being one of "those" preppy girls in line for a Kix show in Baltimore. I still have her vinyl copy of one of their albums.

  63. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    it really did kind of kill the suspension of disbelief.

  64. deanhatescoffee
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    OK, I have some catching up to do with the comics today… I read this one last week but I didn't have a chance to comment on it. The third panel is my favorite. Don't get me wrong – I love Metallica as well as your rendition of James Hetfield – but something about taking Green Day and raping it with Whoppers just hits me in the right spot. BTW, I appreciate the "eyah" at the end of Hetfield's lyric – +1 for accuracy.

  65. hijinksensu5337
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    ThankyouuuuuuuuuuuuahhhH!

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