Music in advertising is used in TV and radio ads to help make the ad more successful. It changes how people see the brand in different ways and can greatly change how people feel about the ad. It also impacts the musicians who provide the music for the advertisements.
Functions of music in advertising
In advertising, music can help achieve the goals of advertising in different ways. David Huron suggests six main categories: entertainment, structure and continuity, memorability, lyrical language, targeting, and authority establishment. Music can also influence a person's emotions and senses. Advertisers use music to affect emotions so the audience is more likely to be interested in what is being advertised. Music is effective because it can change a person's mood, which influences how they think and feel about a product. This helps make advertisements more attractive and attention-getting. Since television commercials are usually 15 seconds long, advertisers need to quickly capture the audience's attention, which music helps with.
The entertainment value of music makes advertisements more appealing by adding beauty or style. Advertisements with high aesthetic value can capture more attention. Music does not need to be closely related to a product to be useful in advertising.
Music can act as a signal to help viewers understand a message. It can indirectly influence how viewers feel about a product. Exciting music can increase physical reactions, like faster heartbeats, showing emotional responses. Sad music has been shown to encourage people to buy products more than happy or no music at all. For example, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) uses sad music in their ads to make viewers feel sorry for animals and donate money to help them. The music helps viewers connect emotionally with the animals.
Music supports the structure and flow of an advertisement by connecting unrelated images. It can help tell a story in a commercial or create characters by using specific musical patterns. Music can also highlight important moments in an advertisement, making it more organized and continuous.
Music can carry the main message of an advertisement or play in the background. When in the background, it can emphasize a brand's qualities or logo. Music is the most common way to help people remember a product. A theory suggests that when people hear a sound or melody, their brain searches for similar sounds in memory, and this search becomes more focused as the sound continues. Music helps people remember products because it stays in their minds. Recognizable music in ads helps viewers remember and understand the message better. Studies show that using well-known songs improves memory. Advertisers use popular music to make a lasting impression on viewers.
To attract consumers, advertisements must be memorable. Whether through catchy songs, bright colors, or effective visuals, ads must stand out for people to consider buying a product. Viewers must be drawn to an ad for the product to be remembered later. Music is a key tool for companies to attract buyers, with some spending up to half a million dollars to create unique commercials. This includes using popular music, celebrities, and athletes that many people recognize. Studies show that when images and words match, people remember more. Music helps draw attention, but visuals also help people remember products later. When both music and visuals are used, it makes remembering products easier. Research shows that louder advertisements are more noticeable and make products more appealing. Companies use music to connect with younger audiences, as they can remember song lyrics faster, leading to ads that match global music trends.
Music can provide both logical facts through spoken words and emotional appeal through music. Modern advertisers must overcome viewers' natural doubt, which has grown over time. Music can influence people without them realizing it, making them less aware of the message.
Using different types of music helps advertisers reach specific groups. The group an advertiser wants to reach is called the target audience, and music plays a big role in attracting them. Music can create different moods and influence how people feel about a product. Changes in music speed, rhythm, and tone can target different groups.
Music often shows what a product is before the ad explains it. Linda M. Scott says that music is an effective background element that connects viewers to a product without them thinking deeply about it. Music can create a bond between a viewer and a product, which is why choosing the right music for the target audience is important.
Authority establishment in advertising means using specific music to make an ad more trustworthy. This can happen by using music from artists who are respected by the target audience. This helps strengthen the connection between the product and the consumer.
Credibility is sometimes questioned when using music in advertising. However, certain types of music can make people, companies, or products seem more trustworthy. Advertisers use this to their advantage, especially when music adds credibility to their message.
Relationship with musician
Music can influence how people view an artist's ethical standards. When a musician creates songs based on their emotions and feelings, and those songs are later used in advertisements, such as for a car or mayonnaise commercial, some may see this as a betrayal of artistic values. This is because the original purpose of the song was not to be used in an advertisement, and some musicians might feel they were treated unfairly.
However, advertisements can also provide musicians with valuable opportunities. Today, many artists use ads to reach a larger audience. When a song is played in a popular commercial, it can help increase the song's success and visibility.
Interaction of music and brand
Music can change how people understand it based on where or when it is played. Advertisers use this idea to help their brands by choosing songs that match their message. Music can help create or share meanings in certain situations. This means some types of music work better with certain products than others. For example, some music might be more suitable for people who enjoy high culture, while other music might appeal more to people who like popular culture. This happens because different music styles can quickly share messages about social or personal attitudes. Music can be very powerful, as it can carry the same meaning as many words. Because of this, advertisers use music more and more to connect their products with certain feelings or ideas. They can take the meanings linked to a type of music and apply them to their products. Music in advertisements can help create a connection between the product and the audience by setting a mood, reminding people of past experiences, or sharing emotions. These features help an advertisement relate to the lifestyle or interests of the people it is trying to reach.
Music can help make a story or product more connected by adding meaning that words or pictures alone might not show. It can even create its own meanings. A brand, product, or service can gain value by being linked to music. This is because people often buy things not just for what they do, but for the personal meanings they connect with. A brand or product must choose a meaning that music can help share. Sometimes, an artist can help shape an advertisement to fit a certain group of people. Advertising is not just about what a product does, but about who the customer is. Advertisements must balance using a song or artist’s meaning with providing enough context to feel real. Both the music and the advertisement can benefit from this connection. Some artists or music groups have become famous because their music was used in advertisements, even though this might mean their music is more focused on the brand than their own style.
When music is used in advertising, either by playing a song or having an artist appear in a commercial, it can create new meanings for both the music and the company. This connection helps make the relationship between the music and the product feel natural. Advertisers find this especially useful when selling products that are similar to others.
Since the late 1920s, music has been an important part of advertising. In the earliest advertisements, companies used short, catchy songs called jingles to promote their products. In 1926, the first radio jingle was for Wheaties cereal, encouraging people to try it. As businesses learned how music could influence people, they began to use music more in commercials to shape how people felt about their products.
In 1934, a company called Muzak was created. Muzak became known for playing background music in stores and other businesses. In 1944, the first television commercial jingle, "Chiquita Banana," was shown in movie theaters. This jingle was easy to remember and helped people learn how to eat bananas. In the 1970s, a jingle writer named Ronnie Bond created popular jingles, such as "Tasty Tasty, very very tasty" for Brank Flake and "I'd rather have a bowl of Coco Pops" for Coco Pops. In the 1980s, advertisers started targeting children by showing toy ads during cartoons. By 1985, jingles were no longer the main way to advertise, and advertisers began using full songs instead. In the 1990s, television breaks between shows became longer, lasting 12–15 minutes per hour. In the 21st century, jingles returned because they are easy to remember and help people connect songs with products. Over time, the use of music in advertising has changed little, but it has become more modern and shaped by what society needs.