Ad's Choice of Song Sparks Debate on Artists' Lives

HP's decision to change an ad because it featured a song by convicted child molester Gary Glitter has Charlie Moran in Advertising Age wondering about how far we should go in drawing the line between the artist and his art. The ad for the TouchSmart PC drew complaints because it used Joan Jett’s 1982 cover of “Do You Want to Touch Me,” which was written by Glitter.

“As a music listener generally unconcerned with the private lives of his favorite artists, this is more than a little troubling,” Moran says, “and while Gary Glitter has an exceptionally disturbing past, it makes me wonder if this is a slippery slope.” The British rocker, incidentally, will collect $156,000 in royalties.
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