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What’s the song in the Calvin Klein Underwear commercial?

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The new commercial released by Calvin Klein Underwear in 2024 stars Jeremy Allen White, but the other protagonist is definitely the song.

It was such a sensational event that, when Jeremy Allen White received the Golden Globe as Best Comedy Actor, someone wondered if he won for The Bear of the commercial for Calvin Klein Underwear. After all, the American fashion brand even shared an exclusive clip, showing the actor getting ready “moments before” the 2024 Golden Globe Awards: a collaboration that has become one of the most discussed things in the advertising world at the beginning of the new year.

Jeremy Allen White in Calvin Klein Underwear | Spring 2024 Campaign
Watch this video on YouTube.

It’s evident that the ad is a pure pleasure for the eye, especially among the female audience. Directed by Mert Alas on the roofs of New York City, the Calvin Klein commercial shows Jeremy Allen White in underwear, exposing his muscles while he climbs the buildings like an urban Spiderman. As usual in fashion commercials, the song has been carefully chosen to make the vision memorable, and it’s worth discovering more about it.

The song featured in the 2024 Calvin Klein Underwear commercial is You Don’t Own Me by Lesley Gore. You can listen to it in full streaming below.

You Don't Own Me
Watch this video on YouTube.

Leslie Gore was one of the brightest music stars of the 60s. She started publishing music when she was 16 and immediately rose to fame: her first song, It’s My Party, reached number one in the music charts in the US, Canada, and New Zealand, launching her career in 1963. She kept releasing one song after the other, constantly receiving the audience’s enthusiastic feedback, and she immediately started to appear on TV shows and movies.

As a 16-year-old songwriter, her music reflected the teenage experience and the emotions connected to love and relationships. However, You Don’t Own, Me, released in 1963 as part of her second studio album, became an early feminist anthem: its lyrics express a firm position of independence, claiming her decisional power as a young girl.

The lyrics you hear in the 2024 Calvin Klein commercial belong to the song’s beginning. You can read them below: the lines reflect the need for autonomy from a young girl’s point of view in the 60s society. The song conveys a clear message: I’m not an accessory to men’s social life; I’m an individual, and nobody can tell me what to do or say.

You don’t own me
I’m not just one of your many toys
You don’t own me
Don’t say I can’t go with other boys

And don’t tell me what to do
Don’t tell me what to say
And please, when I go out with you
Don’t put me on display ’cause

You don’t own me
Don’t try to change me in any way

After over 50 years, Leslie Gore becomes viral again in a fashion commercial, proving the power of her songs. The connection between her voice singing “You don’t own me” and the vision of Jeremy Allen White walking half naked on New York’s buildings will surely be one of the things we’ll remember for a long time. Calvin Klein will definitely be on everyone’s lips for a significant part of 2024.

Discover other curiosities about popular commercials on Auralcrave

Published by Carlo Affatigato

Carlo has been a web content creator for over 10 years. He founded Auralcrave in 2015, envisioning it as a new space capable of offering different perspectives on topics that passionate all of us. With a scientific background, Carlo developed an interest in music, cinema, literature, and art at a young age, transforming it into a complementary dimension to his professional growth. For years, he was a music journalist specializing in electronic and dance music, writing for the most important Italian magazines (both online and print). Movies and TV series have been a true obsession in many phases of his life: during university, it was not uncommon for him to set the alarm in the middle of the night to watch classic films airing on TV. With the advent of the Internet, Carlo became a keen observer of web and social phenomena, addressing light topics such as advertising, trends, fashion, and general themes. He is the main author of Auralcrave and personally manages its social media, editorial line, book publication, resource management, and business expansion. A former engineer, life coach, husband, and father, he believes that every area of knowledge has interesting stories that deserve to be told and is convinced that doing so makes the world a better place.