AC/DC’s ‘Back In Black’ Featured In Latest Commercial From Jack Daniel’s

AC/DC‘s classic song “Back In Black” is featured in the latest creative campaign from Jack Daniel’s, “In The Moment”. The 30-second black-and-white commercial, which was directed by Omar Jones, was created in partnership with advertising agency Energy BBDO and features musicians St. Vincent, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Este Haim.

“At Jack Daniel’s, we’ve always been about living life on your own terms and this new creative expresses that exact sentiment while showcasing our ongoing connection to music,” said Jamie Butler, VP, global brand director, Jack Daniel’s. “We’re excited to remind our friends to always ‘live in the moment’ in a big, bold way through this rousing new spot.”

Jonathan Fussell and Robin Laurens, executive creative directors at Energy BBDO, added: “Jack Daniel’s is such an iconic brand and this campaign leans into the boldness, grit and rock ‘n roll spirit that’s always made Jack great.”

The campaign launches this month in the U.S. across TV, online video, OOH and social content.

AC/DC has famously been reluctant to license its music for advertising, although the band appears to have softened its attitude toward the practice. In 2011, AC/DC allowed the opening riff to its “Back In Black” song to be used in a commercial for Walmart, three years after making its “Black Ice” album available for sale in the U.S. exclusively at Walmart stores.

“They have a purist approach,” Steve Barnett, the chairman of Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, told The New York Times. “Their instinct was always to do the right thing for fans, think long term and not be influenced by financial rewards.”

Three years ago, AC/DC‘s song “Shot In The Dark” was featured in the Dodge brand’s 60-second “Family Motto” video. The spot, which celebrated the brand’s historic first-place finishes in both the J.D. Power APEAL Study (mass market) and J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS),starred Gary Cole reprising his role as Reese Bobby and the iconic line, “if you ain’t first, you’re last,” from the 2006 Sony Pictures film “Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby” (which featured AC/DC‘s song “T.N.T.”).

Back in 2016, the opening riff of AC/DC‘s classic 1980 song “Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” was featured in a series of TV spots from the Applebee’s restaurant chain. The spots were part of Applebee’s advertising campaign, created by the brand’s Kansas City-based ad agency, Barkley, consisting of 15- and 30-second spots aimed at bringing back fans and winning over critics with straight-talk, authenticity and powerful, up-close visuals of the chain’s American-made, wood-fired grills.