(Click here to watch the video. Sorry.)
I tried to embed the video but Youtube and every other website in the world is trying to cover this little puppy up like it’s a crashed ship in Roswell (Yeah, I believe in that stuff!). But fear not, dear readers, I am on a mission. The world must see how stupid Bon Jovi’s “Have a Nice Day” video truly is. It must told from generation to generation.
For if we do not learn from out past then we are doomed to repeat it.
We can all agree that Bon Jovi hasn’t been good since the 80′s. Alas, their hit single “It’s My Life” convinced enough people that they were back with a vengeance. So Bon Jovi was back. Great. But after the hubbub of their big comeback album came the inevitable follow-up. Would it be just as successful? Could lightning strike on this once-dead band again?
The answer to all these questions was no. At least, it was to me. The rest of the country disagreed.
“Have a Nice Day” was a big smash. While not as colossal as “It’s My Life” it sold a lot of copies and had a music video that VH1 played non-stop. Luckily for this website, the video was incredibly stupid. It profiles what happens when aging rockers try to seem young and fresh.
Here’s my problem: in its attempt to appear relevant and hip, the video combines the hot button issues young people and viral advertising. Jackpot, right? I mean, viral marketing is super popular and kids are always hip. The problem is the video got it all wrong. Sure, kids can be dumb but not as dumb as they are perceived in this garbage. We vandalize things but not because Bon Jovi told us to.
Oh yeah, they're totally hip.
In this video, a fan politely asks Jon Bon Jovi to sign his CD. Since Jon is a COMPLETE FREAKING DOUCHE BAG he draws a crooked smiley face on the jewel case instead of, oh, I don’t know, HIS SIGNATURE. The kid — for reasons unknown — is blown away by this act and takes a picture on his phone. The picture then becomes a viral image, posted on stickers, billboards and a chick’s tank top. Is there a reason why this stupid smiley face becomes so popular? No, no there is not. Logic is tossed to the side like well-maintained bleach blonde hair.
So the rest of the video consists of kids running around like dorks and stamping the picture on various things. This was Bon Jovi’s attempt to seem “in the know”. Kids LOVE breaking rules! They love going against the grain, flipping the bird to The Man. Yeah, I guess that’s kind of true but I can’t think of many young kids who a) really, really like Bon Jovi or b) would do this. We did the whole viral marketing thing for The Dark Knight because it was a super cool movie. Bon Jovi is music that cougars listen to.
Must...paste on...EVERYTHING
The whole thing just gets so preposterous and over-the-top. What does the smiley face mean? What does it represent — music? Does it represent rebellion? Does it represent over-the-hill rockers? Why are people so excited by it? See, this is what I’m talking about and it happens often in music videos. The directors come up with an idea of how to get viewers but they totally mishandle the delivery, like the doctor who birthed me. Instead, the video proves that the people behind it know nothing about viral marketing or the youth of America. Which makes sense because it’s a Bon Jovi video and they’re old men.
Sometimes parents try to sound hip and borrow from the current lexicon. You’ve seen it, parents saying “in the hizzy” to their kids. Usually kids give it a pass because, well, parents are kind of cute when they’re attempting to be cool. This video is like that. Only not cute or endearing. It’s like when parents try to be hip and buy alcohol for their kids. They just don’t get it. It’s illegal dumb.
I think the whole Bon Jovi phase is over. They are still very popular but they’ve found their place in the musical landscape. They’re not aiming for the youth anymore. They know where they belong and they are no longer trying to siphon young listeners from other bands. They’ll get a lot of play in office buildings and malls and they’re okay with that. Hell, I’m sure they’ll be around forever.
But there may come a day when they rise back from the realms of pop-rock mediocrity. They may reach their dirty hands out, new catchy single intact, trying to peel away young listeners. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow…
Until then, we can only wait. And pray.
Tags: Bon Jovi, Have a Nice Day
July 2, 2009 at 11:38 pm
I love it when bands release their “attitude song.” It’s just Bon Jovi’s sad attempt to make their music more current.
July 30, 2011 at 6:05 am
Dude.. I am not much into reading, but somehow I got to read lots of articles on your blog. Its amazing how interesting it is for me to visit you very often.