TWISTED SISTER's Classic Song Used In Birth Control Pill Commercial

October 4, 2007

TWISTED SISTER's classic track "We're Not Gonna Take It" is being used in a TV commercial to advertise YAZ, described as "the only birth control proven to treat emotional and physical premenstrual symptoms that are severe enough to impact the lives of women who choose the pill for contraception."

Watch the commercial in question at this location.

"We're Not Gonna Take It" was included on TWISTED SISTER's 1984 album "Stay Hungry". The song was first released as a single (with B-side song "You Can't Stop Rock & Roll") on April 27, 1984. The "Stay Hungry" album was released two weeks later, on May 10, 1984. The single made #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, making it their only Top 40 single, and the song was ranked #47 on VH1's "100 Greatest '80s Songs".

"We're Not Gonna Take It" was written by vocalist Dee Snider. As influences for the song, he cites the glam rock band SLADE, the punk band SEX PISTOLS, and the Christmas carol, "O Come, All Ye Faithful".

The song is notable for its popular music video, with its emphasis on slapstick comedy, where a tyrannical father gets the worst of the band's mischief. Controversy arose when the depiction of family in the video caused a public outcry long before the "explicit lyrics" warning was placed on records, cassettes, and CDs. This led to the formation of the Parents Music Resource Center. Mark Metcalf, the actor portraying the abusive father in the video, had previously played Neidermayer, the ROTC student commander in "National Lampoon's Animal House" (1978). In a reference to his role in the film, Metcalf yells, "A TWISTED SISTER pin? On your uniform?" in the video. Snider himself can also be heard shouting the question "A pledge pin? On your uniform?" at the end of the song. The actor (Dax Callner) portraying the teenager went on to become a somewhat well-known industrial rock artist in Texas. Two of his songs became part of the dance videogame In The Groove.

In 1999, the U.S. rock band LIT parodied the opening scene in their video for "Zip Lock". The angry father was played by Dee Snider.

(Thanks: Alan)

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