Music Can Make It or Break It

Do you ever catch yourself humming a tune from a TV commercial? I sure do, and I can often remember the song, but not always the ad. Rarely the ad. The use of music in a commercial is crucial. You can have a good idea for the ad, good execution, but if the music choice for the commercial is a miss, the commercial will be too. Just think of the Budweiser cowboy commercial from the Superbowl this year: a grumpy, thirsty cowboy singing “Tiny Dancer” (?!) after having quenched his thirst. Really? As much as I love Elton John, the choice of music here was wrong. Bad. The reactions to the commercial proved it. Something from the UFO (rock’n’roll band) repertoire like “Too Hot To Handle” would have matched it much better.

Music in a commercial is a great way to make people feel united, drawn to a product, and emotional about something (which is one of the key elements of a successful advertisement as we have recently learned from Bros. Heath). We get turned on to something through a song. Just think of the use of AC/DC’s “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” in the Nike “Awake” commercial. The response was overwhelming. People liked the music more than the ad. The ad was about human spirit, about getting of your behind and doing something. And what better music choice for it than the music of AC/DC-the band that has become a cultural institution, whose music appealed, and still does, to various demographics of every socio-economic strata. They are the ultimate rock’n’roll band, that was often imitated but never duplicated. There are many examples of commercials where the use of their music has made it a huge success. Remember the NASCAR commercial with “T.N.T” (I’m Dynamite) in the background? Or the use of their music for Rock Band 2 Rock Band 2 video game? With their music they add a level of honesty and straightforwardness, as well as a level of fun to the product. Another example of a very successful fusion of music and ad is a Gap commercial with a girl playing electric guitar to “Back In Black”, with a stack of Marshal amplifiers behind her, saying how Angus Young (AC/DC lead singer) was her first love. That was more commercial for AC/DC than Gap.

There was one more commercial though that was accompanied by AC/DC music but had a split reaction with audience. It was a Gap commercial with Audrey Hepburn dancing also to “Back In Black” introducing new line of Gap skinny jeans. People just could not associate Audrey and her image to that of Angus Young and the music of AC/DC. I personally liked the ad, it was a memorable one, but I think people did not react well to it because it was a clash of two strong, yet very different brand images.

Nonetheless, AC/DC has been and remained a formula for commercial’s success. They are a great brand that has not changed a bit since day one, and their “presence” in a commercial is a mark to a customer that if you interact with a product you will be rewarded in a certain way. Their music can still make it or break it. So, choose your songs wisely, all you commercial wizards.