For those about to shop, we salute you.
Wal-Mart
AC/DC will now be teaming up with Viacom's
AC/DC and Sam Walton's retailing shrine are odd bedmates. Wal-Mart has a history of censoring its shelves, whether it's titillating magazines or crude art. Now it turns around and backs the Australian bad boys of rock? It's not as if AC/DC is going to rename its classic Highway to Hell album, Highway to Heck. There's no sense in kidding the public into thinking that "You Shook Me All Night Long" is an ode to a margarita blender (available in Aisle 5, by the way).
Ultimately, this is a partnership about two extremes meeting in the middle. Wal-Mart wants to appeal to younger audiences, picking up some of that cheap chic mojo from Target
AC/DC, on the other hand, has seen old-school rockers find eclectic ways to sell music through mainstream retailers. Paul McCartnery fared well by going through Starbucks
Viacom also wins here. It's just following rival Activision's
What's next, Wal-Mart? "Big Balls" in the sporting goods department or "Hell's Bells" for the seasonal holiday displays?
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