The music-advertising pairing is unquestionable, it would be impossible to list each and every one of the ads that have used music in their spots, either as a common thread or as a memory element or to highlight a brand logo.
The Power of Music in Advertising
The music used in advertising can be of two types: a song that previously existed and is used for commercial purposes in the ad (we all surely remember Amena’s ad: free, like the sun when the sun rises I am free, like the sea …), or a song created exclusively for it. Be that as it may, the truth is that many advertisements have been successful thanks to the selected music.
Music as a memory element
But why do some ads succeed due to music? What effect does music have on us? Well, one of the main reasons why music began to be used in advertisements (and surely you have heard it on many occasions) is because it helps to memorize. To show a button:
- It’s the Cola-Cao breakfast and snack …
- The Wolf, what a great nougat …
- Laaaaaama to mobile pizza, veeeeeen to mobile pizza …
- Milk, cocoa, hazelnuts and …
Surely all or almost all (here age is a factor to take into account) you have managed to finish the previous “ditties” or “jingles”, it is because we have them memorized, unconsciously we have learned those songs, in a very subtle and simple way, with repeated exposure to ads. It has been shown that using music in the advertisement supposes 90% of brand recognition, 30% more than using only verbal elements (León, 1996).
The emotional impact of music
And in addition to aiding memorization, music can be associated with moods and past situations (Juslin, 2009). If a brand manages to create a pleasant and pleasant sensation for the viewer during their advertisement, in theory, when they listen to the music again, they will experience those sensations again, associating the brand with something pleasant, for example. And that is the main power of music: the generation or expression of emotions in the individual (Caballero-Meneses and Menez, 2010; Jauset, 2008).
For all these reasons, it is not surprising that advertisements, both television and radio, and even social networks like YouTube (https://getfans.io/buy-youtube-views), frequently use melodies or musical elements to associate their brand and/or their products with certain sensations or to improve their memories.
The use of silence in advertising
But in a world where we receive thousands of daily impacts, both visual and auditory, coming from everywhere and at all times … is it possible that giving the viewer a break can be an effective advertising strategy? Well, that is what some brands did, including Mini, which in order to announce the 0% APR, it occurred to them to make “the announcement with less interest”, where only a man was shown entering a Mini, with ambient street sound, without noise, something very subtle, which ended up attracting the attention of the viewers who stopped looking at their mobile screens to raise their heads towards the television and wonder why it did not emit music, loud sounds or brand names;)