Music and advertising have always had a love affair. No matter who takes the lead, music has transformed into a necessary part of TV ads. Companies spend big bucks licensing the ideal song. Why? The right tune can provide continuity to an advertising campaign, like Guitar Hero using ‘Old Time Rock and Roll’ from Bob Seger in multiple commercials with Heidi Klum, athletes, Metallica, etc. Songs are also memorable: I for one remember the Geico commercials with the Kash, the money character, because of Rockwell’s ‘Somebody’s Watching Me’ song. Songs can also help target the audience both demographically (by appealing to a certain age group or ethnicity) or through interests. Apple knows that many of its consumers are music savvy, and most of its commercials have songs from upcoming artists like Yael Naim in its MacBook commercial or the song ‘Bruises’ by Chairlift in the iPod Nano commercial. Apple has an extra incentive to put more effort into picking cool songs because not only do they help sell iPods, but they also get a lot of people to buy the songs later from iTunes. Very sneaky.
On the surface, songs are entertaining. But a good song can set the mood, accentuate the brand message, and create new attachments to a brand. It communicates the brand’s identity while evoking emotions. Songs reach far beyond the conscience mind, touching our feelings, memories and dreams. I almost cry when I listen to ‘Sweat Pea’ by Amos Lee in the AT&T commercial (maybe that’s just me?). How about Mambo Italiano by Renato Carosone in the Go! Visa commercial with the pizza man? Imagine if the producers chose a slow Italian serenade instead – the commercial wouldn’t be nearly as good. Now try watching any of these commercials on mute. Not the same, huh? Several other companies have managed to find the perfect fit for their commercials and to name them all would be exhausting, but my last example – and favorite – would have to be Biz Markie’s ‘Just a Friend’ song in the Heineken commercial. What song makes you want to sing, dance, or cry?
– Blog writer: Maria Correa
PS. If you ever want to find the name of an artist in a commercial, try Adtunes or www.whatsthatcalled.com.