Amplifier

Meet Pomplamoose, The Duo in the Inescapable Hyundai Commercials

By | Amplifier – Mon, Dec 20, 2010 8:47 PM EST
 
Vampire Weekend's "Holiday" isn't the only unavoidable song on TV this Christmas season: No matter what we're watching -- football games, Food Network or even the news -- not a commercial break goes by without the above Hyundai ad, starring a very twee couple in silly festive sweaters singing "Up on the Housetop" and other Christmas standards while horse-playing around a red Hyundai Sonata that's somehow parked in their living room. Love it or hate it, the commercial is inescapable. So, who is this duo that has hammered "Jingle Bells" even further into our skulls?
 
 
They are Pomplamoose, the Marin County, California-based band featuring singer (and Justin Bieber haircut thief) Nataly Dawn and multi-instrumentalist Jack Conte. While they're not household names, Pomplamoose didn't come out of complete obscurity to land the Hyundai campaign. The duo is what we like to call YouTube-famous -- they might not be topping the charts with their albums, but they consistently pull in more viral video views than many more established acts.

Though they formed in 2008, Pomplamoose quickly developed a cult following after they were featured on the front page of YouTube, resulting in a quarter-of-a-million subscribers to their YouTube page to date. Their unique covers of Lady Gaga's "Telephone" and Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" have both topped six million views, and every time a new track is uploaded by the duo, it's a safe bet to surpass a million clicks. Even without a record label or publicist, the duo have managed to sell about 100,000 downloads thanks entirely to their YouTube videos, Pomplamoose told NPR last April. Expect that download total to explode thanks to their Hyundai ads.

[Related: Julia Roberts accepts commercial work]

 
This isn't the first time Pomplamoose has provided tunes for a car company in the gaps between television shows. Last year, their rendition of "Mr. Sandman" was used in a Toyota Avalon commercial. While you try futilely to get "Up on the Housetop" out of your head, enjoy some of Pomplamoose's non-holiday songs:

Michael Jackson's "Beat It"

Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"

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