Two Notes Ahead

Have you seen Weezer’s new video yet? Chances are you have, but if not, please watch to understand what I’m about to say:

Borrowing a favourite theme of a certain very well-known marketer, it takes a certain kind of band to be able to do this. You would be getting what Seth Godin calls a Meatball Sundae if you tried to mix a conventional, made-for-the-masses band name (Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, Coldplay) with an innovative, obviously niche video like Pork & Beans’.

Yeah, people have said that this video is great with a number of “reasons” and “tactics” to explain its success. Here’s one that I haven’t seen mentioned:

This video works because it’s very “Weezer.”

Weezer is known for being an oddball nerd-rock band that is tapped into (but not enshrined in) popular culture and who love to reference things they like (Happy Days and The Muppets, for example).

Obvious, yes. But incredibly important.

When is the last time your band (or your favourite band) used its own image as promotional materials?