Most of the time when advertising gurus lift a piece of music and plunk it in a commercial it doesn't fit. I've written a few "jingles" in my life and have been in advertising forever and am pretty embarrassed by this part of the business. There seems to be a limit to good taste and no limit to bad. Actually not so much in this commercial. I kinda liked it. My reason is pretty simple; it is clever.
The music is from Act III of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet ballet; a fav. It is the morning serenade. I haven't visited the term "serenade" perhaps in "forever" so got out my old books and did some reading. The term comes from the Italian sereno or serene. Good for Lincoln so far.
More to the point it is a song or piece of music performed "to" someone (not about but "to"). Probably all love ballads are serenades in one form or another. Romeo and Juliet is pretty ripe for serenades to balconies or in parting in the morning...all kinds of places, but in the end, it is a song from one to another.
The music in the commercial works because it is interesting and not typical. On a clever level, it is a song to the Lincoln car, a serenade to it. If we want to get into further the Romeo and Juliet piece is a morning serenade or "aubade" - mornings in advertising are used to convey freshness and awakening of the senses - it is a time tested formula.
Enough. This is pretty dreary writing and I'm sorry to put you through it. I just liked the commercial (not the Lincoln) and the music is pretty great. Here is the original. Lincoln hasn't figured out how to put their commercial up on You Tube.
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