What's The Song In Heineken's 2024 Commercial Celebrating 150 Years In Business?

The early months of 2024 usher in an important milestone for Heineken, as the ever-popular Dutch beer company is celebrating its 150th year of existence. Managing to operate for a century-and-a-half is no small feat for a business, and the brewing industry juggernaut has accordingly released a special advertisement to mark the occasion. The spot, fittingly titled "150 Years of Good Times – Whatever You Call Us," highlights Heineken's international popularity, with people all over the world asking for one of the iconic green bottles at the bar in numerous different languages. Notably, the ad is set to an energetic rock tune that diehard music fans may find familiar.

The song that plays in Heineken's special 150th-anniversary commercial is "Ça plane pour moi" by the popular Belgian musician Plastic Bertrand. The tune, which derives its name from a piece of French slang that roughly translates to "this works for me," was released in 1978 as a single off of the artist's debut studio album "AN 1." Interestingly enough, this punk rock pop song wasn't actually sung by Bertrand himself, with the vocals instead coming from his fellow producer Lou Deprijck. However, that hasn't stopped the song from becoming one of the artist's most popular tracks and a piece with lasting influence on the medium.

If viewers of Heneiken's anniversary ad think that "Ça plane pour moi" sounds pretty familiar to them, it may be for a couple of different reasons. For one thing, the song is one of the most popular pieces of the early new wave movement, and has a pop punk sound reminiscent of artists like The B-52s and Blondie. Not only has the piece inspired a number of subsequent creators, but it has also been covered extensively. Numerous versions performed by different musicians exist, including several from high-profile artists like Sonic Youth and Leila K.

Heineken is also far from the first entity to include "Ça plane pour moi" or one of its many variations in a piece of media. The song features on the soundtrack of major films like 2013's "The Wolf of Wall Street," 1985's "National Lampoon's European Vacation," 2011's "Jackass 3.5," 2012's "Ruby Sparks," and more. It has also been heard on notable TV series like "Gossip Girl" and video games like "Just Dance 2019." As a matter of fact, Pepsi actually beat Heineken to the punch by including The Presidents of the United States' cover of the song in a 2008 ad to promote its iconic soft drink.

Suffice it to say, Plastic Bertrand's "Ça plane pour moi" has grown into a ubiquitous piece of music across the world at large. With Heineken looking to celebrate its own level of worldwide popularity, it makes sense that the beer company would seek out a track with similar star status.