It has become a cliché to hate and insult Nickelback (a point I explored a few years ago and still stand by), a high-achieving band that plays a style of music that is no longer conducive to the chart-topping success they once enjoyed. Nickelback parodies haven’t been funny for a long time now, but they take on a different tone when it’s Nickelback themselves doing the parodying, which is exactly what happens in a great new ad from Google.
To promote Google Photos, Chad Kroeger (who has a sense of humor about the ire he and his band draw) recorded new lyrics for his band’s hit “Photograph,” which is perhaps the most memed song of its era. The video starts with an altered clip from the song’s original video, which shows Kroeger holding up a phone instead of a picture frame as he sings, “Look at this photograph.”
Chad’s Hair or Ramen bowl? Reimagining Photograph for its 15th anniversary. Time flies. #GooglePhotos #ad #Nickelback pic.twitter.com/IvqEEdWZWv
— Nickelback (@Nickelback) December 22, 2020
As the song goes on, Kroeger pokes fun at things like his often-criticized old hairstyle, as he sings, “Falling down the photo rabbit hole / Is it my hair or just a ramen bowl?” He then launches into the altered chorus, “Every memory regretting all my hairstyles / If you wove it all together, it would go for miles / It’s hard to braid it, time to shave it / Goodbye, highlights.”
The ad is about as successful and amusing of a self-deprecating parody as an artist has made lately, so check it out above.
Nickelback is a Warner Music artist. .