Chris BeazerMusic In The Advertising World
May 14th 2006 23:07
Music is universal. It binds us, brings us together. And not just in the ways you think. Music is quickly becoming one of the most openly used forms of advertising. From companies taking one of your favourite songs for their jingle, to artist-endorsements of products, one can not escape consumerism. That is not to say that music hasn’t always served this purpose, but only that it’s much harder to escape it now. There are some arguably classy ads around. Think iPod. And, of course, it would make little sense to advertise a music gadget without using music... Although it could work, purely due to shock-value. But what about that ad for Sultana Bran? Taking a great, classic, Beach Boys hit and turning it into a cereal jingle? And a really really clichéd one at that. All it does for me is remind me I haven’t hit the mute button yet.
But my aim wasn’t to rant. It was, in fact, to share an interesting fact that I read in Car Magazine. 430 of the songs to reach the Billboard Top 20 last year, (I know, I know, American), made references to cars. If that’s not great advertising, I don’t know what is. So it’s not just about Mercedes-Benz picking the perfect Kanye West or G-Unit song for their ad campaigns. Now Kanye West and G-Unit (among many others - Mercedes was the most frequently mentioned manufacturer at 100 pops) are taking the product and inserting it into their songs... And Merc sales were up 5% or so last year, probably because Kanye West fans found that, well, maybe it was worth the extra $25K to get a Merc, if The Man Himself liked them.
My point is, though I love cars and it brings me great joy to hear one of my favourite cars mentioned... “I put Lamborghini doors on that Escalade...”, I love music too. I love music, I love cars, I love music IN cars. But I’m not sure that once car manufacturers start ripping off great songs that I’ll love either as much... I guess that was a rant, huh?
But my aim wasn’t to rant. It was, in fact, to share an interesting fact that I read in Car Magazine. 430 of the songs to reach the Billboard Top 20 last year, (I know, I know, American), made references to cars. If that’s not great advertising, I don’t know what is. So it’s not just about Mercedes-Benz picking the perfect Kanye West or G-Unit song for their ad campaigns. Now Kanye West and G-Unit (among many others - Mercedes was the most frequently mentioned manufacturer at 100 pops) are taking the product and inserting it into their songs... And Merc sales were up 5% or so last year, probably because Kanye West fans found that, well, maybe it was worth the extra $25K to get a Merc, if The Man Himself liked them.
My point is, though I love cars and it brings me great joy to hear one of my favourite cars mentioned... “I put Lamborghini doors on that Escalade...”, I love music too. I love music, I love cars, I love music IN cars. But I’m not sure that once car manufacturers start ripping off great songs that I’ll love either as much... I guess that was a rant, huh?
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Comment by Sisi
Comment by jimboh2k
http://www.musictimes.com.au
Comment by Ella
Yeah, you're right. It was cool... And corny. BUT, I didn't mean to generalise completely. Joel Turner's beatboxing was, unless I'm mistaken, written for the commercial. I'm talking about great songs that are re-used and re-made just to gain a little attention for the advertised product. I think that great songs should be appreciated for their musical qualities, not used to sell cereal or beauty products.