Beyond the Virgonicas

Okay.

I frequently am so offended by the flashiness and over-the-top(of my email)ness of the ads that appear on my professional unpaid-for email that when one appears that doesn't offend, I click on it in an attempt to encourage less offensive ads.

So I clicked on an ad from Yahoo! New Music "Beyond the Veronicas presented by YAZ Beyond Birth Control."

I was equally interested in the three parts of the ad.

Yahoo! has a "new music" site?

Who are the Veronicas, and who is beyond them?

What could they possibly mean by "beyond birth control"? (A hysterectomy? YAZ-brand hysterectomies??)

The Veronicas, it turns out, are a band that sings "Teen Pop, Australian, Pop," and they're trying to make it big in the U.S. -- starting with getting exposure for their lead single, it seems, "Untouched."

Ooh. Okay, this is getting interesting. (Abstinence is beyond birth control? But how could you brand that?)

The video for untouched, which you can see here, eliminates any thoughts that the Veronicas might be advocating abstinence. She feels "untouched," she says, but that's because she just wants it so bad.

[Editor's note: If you're offended by the phrase "wants it so bad," please don't watch the video.]

Sadly, I found myself liking the music, which has a nice orchestral-electronica feel to it; if only the lyrics and whole thrust of the song weren't so sophomoric.

But I have to admire the collaboration, now, between whatever this YAZ birth control is, and the Veronicas; it's clear the Veronicas are in the market for it and can probably speak authoritatively on the subject. Additionally admirable is the fact that I've watched three videos of theirs, including an interview, and have yet to hear them plug for YAZ. So it's a low-profile association.

Why don't we see more of this intelligent product placement?