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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]

10:45 AM on Tue Oct 21 2008
By Maura

11 Comments

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11 Responses to “The Innocent Origins Of “Saved By Zero””

  1. by allyzay at 1:01 am

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

  2. by allyzay at 1:02 am

    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.

  3. by NeverEnough at 1:03 am

    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.

  4. by Pareene at 1:03 am

    ned otm this song rules

  5. by Reidicus at 2:19 am

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

  6. by On the Spot at 2:20 am

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


    + Watch video

  7. by Chris Molanphy at 3:23 am

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

  8. by D.R. Mosby at 10:30 am

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


    + Watch video

  9. by Audif Jackson Winters III at 11:09 am

    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.

  10. by Ned Raggett at 11:36 am

    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.

  11. by DrWorm at 1:20 am

    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)

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