It’s hard to escape the sound of classic rock these days. Not that I want to. It’s not just us classic rock fans that still have respect for the sound of classic rock, however. We’ve heard various classic rock hits used through the years as soundtracks for television shows (think Sopranos) and for commercial advertising. Although one might expect these classic hits to fade into obscurity in favor of more contemporary sounds, the opposite appears to be true.

A new commercial for State Farm Insurance features Journey’s hit song “Any Way You Want It,” in order to promote the availability of the company when customers need to get in touch with them. Judging from the number of commercials I see on television, the insurance industry appears to be one of the most competitive industries out there. Therefore, one could presume that the big insurance companies are laying out the cash to hire the best ad agencies that money can buy.

Although I don’t see nearly as many commercials on television for casinos as I do for insurance companies, I think it’s safe to assume that most casinos can afford as much advertising as they care to buy. After, as well all know, the house always wins.

The classic rock group Queen is enjoying a little extra exposure these days thanks to a commercial for the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Much like the commercial for State Farm, the actors in the commercial begin by using song lyrics as part of their dialog. As the ad progresses the dialog morphs into a full-blown performance of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” albeit just enough to whet one’s appetite sufficiently and send Queen fans digging for that CD or MP3 file and cranking it up.

Although it’s hard for many classic rock fans like myself to believe, not everyone in the world has, at sometime in their life, heard “Bohemian Rhapsody.” There are bound to be more than a few young people, and perhaps some not-so-young people who never have. Those with an affinity for interesting music might become newly-minted Queen fans if their interest is piqued sufficiently.

Perhaps these are just the ruminations of an aging classic rock fan who is happy to see some of his old favorites getting some exposure to TV audiences, even if it is through commercials – televised interruptions which usually make me want to change the channel. As much as I dislike commercials, I am not beyond the ability to appreciate a clever ad which flies in the face of most TV advertising that appears to be produced by people that are under the impression that most of the television viewing audience is comprised of idiots.

In this particular case, the advertisement for the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas is the clear winner for me, and I’m not even taking the bathing beauty at the bar into consideration before issuing that ruling. Using the lyrics of a song like “Bohemian Rhapsody” for the actor’s dialog is an immediate attention-grabber whether the viewer is a Queen fan or not. How could anyone not wonder what something like that was leading up to? This is one of those rare television commercials that I’d actually stick around to watch so I could find out what it was all about. If all commercials were that clever and featured music from classic rock bands I suppose I might actually stop complaining about them.