The Innocent Origins Of “Saved By Zero”


As someone pointed out in yesterday’s post on Toyota’s “saved by zero” ad, that super-earwormy jingle actually comes from a 1983 song by the Fixx; “Saved By Zero” reached No. 20 on the Hot 100 that year, although it wasn’t an MTV powerhouse like the next single from Reach The Beach, “One Thing Leads To Another.” The intense hatred people seem to have for this ad makes me doubt that recutting “Saved By Zero” for the purposes of advertising cheap credit will result in the Fixx’s overall catalog getting a once-over; I hope that the band doesn’t react by selling my favorite Fixx track, “How Much Is Enough,” for the purposes of advertising larger-than-life savings on trucks. [Dailymotion / Earlier]

 
VEVO
Free
VEVO
Free
VEVO
Free
My Room in the Trees - The Innocence Mission
Free (Website) Photos, Free (Website) Wallpapers, Free (Website ...
The Free Cities
The Wannabees Free for iPhone
CNET Editors' note: The "Download Now" link directs you to the iTunes App Store, where you must continue the download process. You must have iTunes installed in order to open the link, and you must have an active iTunes account to download the application.
2012 NFL Free Agency: Predicting Who From the Bears Will Stay and Who Will Go
The Chicago Bears have 14 players scheduled to hit free agency this offseason. They also have plenty of room in their salary cap to go out and sign free agents from other teams, but they will most likely want to take care of their own first. The big names ...



 
  1. Audif Jackson Winters III  |   Posted on Oct 21st, 2008

    I’ve actually heard this song a bunch of times (probably on Sirius First Wave … not a big Fixx fan), but they decontextualize so much in the commercial, that I never made the connection at all. Strange.

  2. Ned Raggett  |   Posted on Oct 21st, 2008

    I still think it’s their best song, just because it’s a very, very strange take on pop/funk, mostly due to how the vocals and keyboard parts are arranged. It was also the first song I heard from them, so there’s that.

  3. allyzay  |   Posted on Oct 21st, 2008

    @Ned Raggett: ewww, no. this song makes me want to murder puppies.

  4. allyzay  |   Posted on Oct 21st, 2008

    tbh watching sporting events, specifically nfl games, this year is just nothing but weirdness in the ads anyway, my favorite being the nfl network’s “everyday is like sunday” ad.

  5. NeverEnough  |   Posted on Oct 21st, 2008

    This isn’t nearly as bad as the use of Bowie’s “Sound and Vision” in that Rhapsody commercial (at least, I think it’s Rhapsody). That song is PERFECT and I hate the idea of getting sick of it.

  6. Pareene  |   Posted on Oct 21st, 2008

    ned otm this song rules

  7. Reidicus  |   Posted on Oct 21st, 2008

    It has to win some sort of award for the best use-slash-perversion of Nile Rodgers-style rhythm guitar, that’s for sure.

  8. On the Spot  |   Posted on Oct 21st, 2008

    Only one great Fixx song, and “Saved” ain’t it.

  9. Chris Molanphy  |   Posted on Oct 21st, 2008

    I kind of liked “Are We Ourselves?” personally.

  10. D.R. Mosby  |   Posted on Oct 21st, 2008

    “Stand or Fall” was the first Fixx song I ever heard, and I still think it was their best:

  11. DrWorm  |   Posted on Oct 22nd, 2008

    Heh, I thought the whole reason for the original post was because it was a Fixx song.

    Anyway, my vote for favorite Fixx song:
    (sorry, there was no official video, and the live performance don’t quite capture the sound)

Leave a Reply

Sign In Login