It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll ‘n’ Marketing

The Rolling Stones on “Days of Our Lives”? No, it’s not a sick joke: The group once proclaimed “the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band” will be making an appearance on the NBC soap opera. It’s one of the marketing deals that the Stones’ label, Virgin Records, signed to help boost sales of their recently released album, A Bigger Bang.

“At this part of their career, it’s hard to get them on the radio,” Virgin Records vice president of marketing Randy Miller said Sept. 27 during an Advertising Week 2005 session. “The average age of the band members is 63, the younger crowd is not their demo, and AOR [album-oriented rock] stations aren’t playing new releases. Their only hope at getting into the Top 40 is with successful marketing.”

That means reaching out to the bands’ constituency, which is no longer teens but instead the aging baby boomers. So Virgin signed a deal with the National Football League that allowed the Stones' likeness and music from the new album to be used in on-air promotions by the league and its television affiliates. Footage from a Stones concert was used in the league's season kickoff show, and the band will be the featured performance during the Super Bowl halftime show, Miller said.

And in addition to the Stones’ appearing on “Days of Our Lives,” a ballad from A Bigger Bang will be used as the long-running soap’s love theme.

"The Stones have always been open to endorsements, but they're at the stage in their career where they need to be part of a marketing message if people are going to hear their music," Miller said. "They know that sports fans and housewives will buy their album if the marketing is done right."

The results of the NFL deal have yet to be measured. A Bigger Bang did make it the Number 12 album on the Billboard charts Oct. 1, and but dipped to Number 25 for Oct. 8, its third week on the charts. The Stones' ongoing tour, sponsored by Ameriquest Mortgage Co., is also contributing to sales of the new album, Miller said.