I’m sort of famous among family and friends for my inability to forget, oh, say, TV commercials that aired in 1986. Part of this is that we used to tape movies off of television, and so on the tapes my siblings and I watched frequently we’d see commercials for years and years after they’d stopped running. Another part is that I simply have a brain that latches onto funny punchlines and, of course, catchy jingles. Lots and lots and lots of catchy jingles.

The commercial I’ve posted below, however, is a different sort of phenomenon. It was a commercial for Nestle’s chocolate, but it was far more like, say, an Enya video: mesmerizing, full of strange, surreal images and hypnotic, atmospheric music. As far as the imagery goes, I remember the idea of it more than specifics – but the jingle has actually sort of haunted me ever since I first heard it at age 7.

So today when I looked it up on YouTube, I discovered to my astonishment that the page was loaded with comments by people who remembered the music, note-perfect. (“This must be some kinda friggin subliminal mind trap!” says one commenter.) So it’s not me in this case: it’s the ad. Even Faith No More was entranced by it: they apparently used to perform the jingle in concert.

Do you remember this one too?

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK76o7Q17vc]