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Music has been a vital part of advertising since the advent of radio in the early 1920s. It has evolved over the years, but music is still an integral part of the advertising process.
Jingles
The “jingle” is the most obvious use of music in advertising. Historically, the most effective jingles are memorable short phrases sung in repetition. The good ones are hard to forget, like “Pop pop fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is” (Alka Seltzer) and “Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t” (Mounds/Almond Joy).
Some jingles, like “We’ve Only Just Begun” (Crocker National Bank) and “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” (Coca-Cola) were made into best-selling recordings.
Other uses of advertising music
Jingles are still out there, but music has taken many other turns in the ad world:
- Not that long ago, popular recording artists scoffed at having their music used in a commercial. That’s changed, due to declining CD sales and the money advertisers are willing to pay for famous, recognizable songs.
- Music is an important factor in establishing a mood for TV and radio commercials. It conveys emotion, drama, comedy, nostalgia, fun or sadness when needed, and can emphasize selling points with catchy mellifluous phrases and dramatic orchestral hits.
- The digital age has brought even more uses for music in advertising. Web sites utilize music and musical effects in Flash animation. Electronic music has brought a plethora of synthesized sounds to broadcast advertising, and music programmers are constantly inventing new ones.
- Musical (“sonic”) logos have become popular; two of the best known are the Intel four-note phrase at the end of their ads and the McDonalds five-note musical logo (“Da-da-da-da-da”).
Memorability and more
James Kalleris, a University of Cincinnati professor, coined the name “earworm” in describing those catchy melodic phrases we can’t get out of our heads.
One of a music ad writer’s goals is to create "earworms" that the public can’t forget when shopping in grocery aisles and department stores.
Besides memorability, music enhances advertising in the following ways:
- It establishes continuity in an advertiser’s TV, radio, and online commercials.
- Entertaining music can grab the listener’s ear and make him watch or listen to a commercial when he may not otherwise.
- Music glues the ad together, adding structure to the overall spot.
Creating ad music
Creating advertising music is an art in itself. It requires innate talent, conditioned skills and knowledge of modern recording and producing techniques.
It can be a lucrative career for creative musicians who have what it takes to succeed in the business.
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