How a Burger King ad inspired Devo

"Do it your way": the advertising jingle that inspired DEVO

(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)

Wednesday 17 July 2024 4:00pm, UK

The 1970s were a time of radical change in rock music, but no one embodied that change better than Devo. Concept albums are often touted as the most interesting and mature works an artist can create, but Devo took that to a whole new level, becoming a kind of conceptual band. Standing out from all the other bands populating the mid-1970s punk and new wave scene, the band led by Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale found inspiration in the most unlikely places.

Often when you listen to a young rock band, it’s easy to identify their potential influences. For example, when the Sex Pistols first became famous, you could tell they were heavily inspired by proto-punk bands like The Stooges. On the contrary, no band sounded anywhere near the sound that Devo recorded – admittedly, no other band since 1973 has managed to match their sound.

This unique and distinctive sound is largely due to the band’s socio-political stance. Mothersbaugh, in particular, was obsessed with the ideas of capitalism and advertising, which influenced the theory of “devolution” at the heart of the band. Early on, they were particularly influenced by the horrific events of the Kent State massacre in 1970, which served as a catalyst for the band’s formation.

Throughout the band’s existence, Devo has drawn on commercial influences. Satirical takes on American society and advertising are felt in everything from the band’s lyricism to their stage personas and even the album cover. In 2020, Mothersbaugh reflected on this element of the band, saying Fork“I formed Devo with Jerry (Gerald Casale); we were thinking about devolution. After the Kent State shootings, we realized that rebellion was no longer the way to change things. Once the government gets angry enough, they lock you up or kill you.”

“There’s no such thing as democracy,” the songwriter continues. “It’s just corporations and the ebb and flow of capitalism. We were like, ‘Oh my, the way things are going, we could have a movie star or a jock for president. People are getting stupider and stupider.’ Of course, just a decade after the massacre, movie star Ronald Reagan would be elected in the United States, and things would get worse from there. To add to the sense of American capitalism in Devo’s discography, the band found early inspiration in a Burger King commercial, among other things.

“I remember watching commercials around that time,” Mothersbaugh said, “and the one that really caught my attention was a Burger King commercial where they took Pachelbel’s Canon — one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written — and turned it into, ‘Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce/Special orders don’t upset us/All we ask is that you let us serve it your way.’” Fans of the band already know that the slogan eventually morphed into the Devo song “Too Much Paranoias,” from their seminal debut album. Q: Are we not men? A: We are devotees!.

After the ad campaign, Devo adopted a manifesto: “What if we presented our ideas in a way that could seep into mainstream music?” Mothersbaugh recalled, “We wanted to be subversive,” before adding, “I hope Burger King wouldn’t mind.” In fact, Devo was so subversive and ahead of its time that the profound message at the heart of its existence often went over the heads of casual listeners. For the few devoted ones, however, Devo changed the way many approached music and art.

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