Group's Dylan ad makes TV history

The iconic Blowin’ in the Wind song will form the soundtrack to The Co-operative’s new two and a half minute commercial which will be aired for the first time during Coronation Street on ITV on Monday February 16th.

It is the first time the singer/songwriter has given permission for ‘Blowin in the Wind’ to be used in a TV advert in Britain and the Group has made history by becoming the first organisation to book the entire commercial break at 7.40pm for an ad.

The song was first featured in Dylan’s hugely popular 1963 album, Freewheelin, but since then it has been recorded by a host of artists including Peter, Paul and Mary — who had a massive international hit with it — Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder, Bobby Darin, Neil Young, Marianne Faithful, Chet Atkins, Joan Baez and Dolly Parton.

The ad is part of the Group’s £10 million campaign to re-brand its entire operation and its estate of 4,200 outlets and the commercial is intended to show what makes the society and the Movement different from other high street brands.

Mike Smith, UK Managing Director of Columbia Records, said: “Bob Dylan has dominated popular music for five decades and is enjoying more popularity right now than ever before.

“His recent UK shows sold out in minutes and his music is all the more relevant for the world we live in today. It is rare for Bob to licence his recordings to TV ads, so the decision to do so with the Co-operative Group and Blowin’ in the Wind shows a willingness to embrace fresh ways of reaching a new audience through an ethical and fair trade organisation.”

Patrick Allen, the Co-operative Group’s Director of Marketing, told the News: “When we put the ad together, we were astounded that no-one had ever used Blowin’ in the Wind in this context before.

“We felt the sentiments expressed in Dylan’s masterpiece summed up the optimism we have for The Co-operative, so when Columbia Records told us he had agreed, we were delighted.

“We have invested heavily in the re-branding exercise and now through Dylan’s iconic track we can tell everyone about the new-look Co-operative.”