The Art of Music in Advertising

Brands will pay anywhere from a few thousand to several million for the right track to make their ad stand out.

It makes sense. Why spend thousands on a spot that could be viewed by millions, only to miss the mark with the music choice? It’s a huge opportunity to hack into the heads of consumers and, for better or worse, it’s the music and not the message that’s likely to stick around in their subconscious for years to come.

For example, most people remember at least one of the songs from the John Lewis Christmas ads. And who can forget Cadbury's use of "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins?

It's a science-backed strategy for success. Music has the power to trigger the brain's reward system and evoke emotional memories, which means what you hear when you watch an ad is just as memorable as what you see. Often, more so.

 

How brands choose music for their ads

Music choices usually flow directly from brand strategy. This considers everything from who the target demographic is and the intended emotional response to the financials - essentially, what the brand can afford.

With a lot at stake, there are a few people a brand can turn to, to help them choose the perfect track.

• A music supervisor

The music supervisor usually works independently or for a music house. They're a master of all genres, trends, and highly knowledgeable of the ways music evokes different emotional responses and actions. They have the connections to source some of the biggest hits and the rarest recordings.

They work closely with the creative director to source music which matches the criteria for the project and go through the segments of the ad to make sure it aligns with the action. They'll work to strict budget limitations or offer up a selection of tracks to meet different budgets.

They'll also negotiate all the master recording and intellectual property rights for their client (the brand or agency they're working with) on their behalf to make sure it's properly cleared for its intended use.

This is particularly important for ads which will be distributed across multiple platforms and to multiple countries, like Coca Cola's 1971 track “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” which was localised for 27 different markets.

• A creative team

This could be an in-house or advertising agency creative team. It usually comprises copywriters, artists and designers, and the creative director.

The creative scope and strategic goals of the project will be at the heart of any decision they take over the music. The strategy and creative will often give rise to a music brief, including genres, moods, intended feelings.

• Music libraries

There are a number of stock music libraries online. Some allow you to pay a fee for certain tracks, while others work on a subscription basis.

The sheer volume of music a library contains makes it a great place to start your research and get a feel for what's out there.

 

Types of music in advertising

Advertising music can take many forms, from sound FX, to jingles, sonic logos and full backing tracks. It all depends on the medium.

• Artist originals

Using well-known, existing tracks allows a brand to tap into the emotions, memories and connections an audience already established when they listened to the song originally.

This is because brain activity increases in the limbic system when we listen to music. This is the area involved in motivation, reward, emotional processing and recalling memories.

If a brand wants to create a feeling of nostalgia, for example, they have only to pick a well-known track from a period in time their target demographic would remember fondly. These immensely popular hits usually, however, come with the heftiest price tags.

• Covers

Creating a new version of an existing song, allows you to tap into some of the same emotions, while at the same time, injecting it with new feeling or meaning (depending on the nature of the recording).

This strategy is a John Lewis favourite. Just look at Lily Allen’s cover of Somewhere Only We Know, and Aurora’s version of Half the World Away, both used in their Christmas ads just a couple of years apart.

Commissioning a cover for an advert also allows for greater creative control and flexibility, according to the needs of the visual treatment and the ad's distribution.

• New compositions

The cost of a custom song naturally varies widely, depending on the artist's rate, the production (for example, the recording might require a full orchestral complement), and how flexible you need the usage rights to be.

However, a custom composition can be created exclusively for the brand. If the composition is successful, it can evoke instant brand recognition every time it’s played.

 

What makes a winner?

The best advertising music does three things. It's memorable, creates the right emotional response and sells products. It can even catapult new songs and covers to the top of the charts.

When it comes to a winning song, John Lewis has absolutely perfected their formula. Their music choices convey meaning, feeling and complement their ad's emotional storytelling and narrative arc. On some of their most successful examples, stripped back vocals give a distinctly human touch, which perfectly matches the themes their adverts tackle, such as wonder, innocence, companionship and love.

The commercial value is undeniable. Their Bear and the Hare campaign alone gave rise to millions in merchandise revenue and product sales, and created a number one that lasted for weeks in the charts in the lead up to Christmas, earning the brand even greater levels of exposure and cementing its position and significance in UK culture.

 

Choose wisely with Universal Production Music

Browse our collection of tracks and sound FX for your next project, or speak with one of our music supervisors to who'll help your ad hit all the right notes.

Alternatively, check out our intelligent music Similarity Search function and use it to browse the entire catalogue according to the music examples and criteria in your advertising brief.