Music in advertising

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Music in advertising is the use of songs and incidental music in advertising campaigns, particularly television and radio commercials. The music can often reflect current trends, using artists and songs that are popular at the time. While some advertisers use popular songs, some songs become popular because of the advertisement. There are several websites to cater to the needs of those who are looking for a specific, catchy song that played in a commercial (see External links).

According to David Huron's "Music in Advertising: An Analytic Paradigm" from Musical Quarterly, Vol. 73, No. 4 (1989) pp. 557-574: "Of the estimated sixty billion broadcast advertising hours encountered by North Americans each year, approximately three-quarters employ music in some manner." Huron explains that there are six basic ways in which music contributes to an effective television advertisement: "1) entertainment, 2) structure/continuity, 3) memorability, 4) lyrical language, 5) targeting, and 6) authority establishment."

[edit] Jingle

Main article: Jingle

A jingle is a short catchy tune which incorporates a product name or slogan. It may be orginial or taken from a music piece that already exists. The purpose of a jingle is to get consumers to remember the product. A good jingle can make even a low-budget advertisement very memorable.

In "Salesnoise: the convergence of music and advertising,"author Carrie McLaren explains that early advertising music had different aims than it does now. Music then was used as a mnemonic device, using rhyme and repetition to help keep a brand name in mind. "Music now is more often employed as 'borrowed interest,' capturing a feeling, setting a mood, recalling past experiences and playing them back on behalf of the sponsors," she wrote.