Getting What They Want: Viv and the Revival makes a splash in a national ad campaign

“It feels surreal and amazing at the same time,”says Philly songwriter Viv Peyrat. He’s talking about the experience of turning on the television and hearing his song “I Want It” in a major national ad campaign: the Verizon “Faces” commercial.

The spot (which you can watch below) features a twenty-something male taking various tech devices out of a red Verizon shopping bag. The song, by Peyrat’s band Viv and The Revival, is an infectious rocker that sounds like a distant cousin to Gary Glitter’s “Rock And Roll Part 2,” and it features Peyrat singing “I want it, I want it, I want it right now.”

Written by frontman Peyrat in collaboration with Nate Rylan (formerly of the Philly band Early Ape), “I Want It” is very catchy. It was the second song the two wrote together. The television commercial campaign launched on December 24th, and according to Viv in a recent e-mail exchange, the commercial has played “at least 30 times a day” since then. The campaign runs on TV till February 15th, online till the end of the year.

The use of song placements in television shows and commercials and movies has been increasingly more important to the music industry business model over the last decade. As overall record sales have been in decline, bands are generating money through increased touring and as well as various media placements. A song placement in a high profile media campaign has been one of the ways many artists are reaching millions of people – and getting paid.  to hear the song in the commercial, says Peyrat, “You can never get used to the feeling, it always surprises me and gets me every time.”

According to Peyrat, who was born in France and moved to Philly as a young kid, the band has been writing and performing as Viv and the Revival for about 3 years. With the exception of some time he spent in Los Angeles, the live band lineup he says, “came together eight months ago, and we’ve been playing everywhere since then.”

“I Want It” found its way onto the Verizon commercial through the work of Peyrat’s manager, Diane Dragonette. According to him, there is “even a Spanish version of the song.”

While Peyrat is taking in the moment, he’s preparing to release his official debut album, The Introduction, next month. It will include “I Want It,” which is now available digitally. The rocker, who says he’s influenced by “Michael Jackson, Tom Petty, Peter Gabriel, Bob Marley, Prince, AC/DC, and so many others,” plays The Grape Room in Manayunk, on Saturday, February 22nd. Below, listen to “I Want It” in its entirety.