09 Track 9

Review unit 4

Fluency Practice

Review Reading 8: Music and Advertising

Page 224

Advertisers know that music has the power to enhance advertisements and help them to stick in people’s minds. Music can also be used to target specific groups within the population.

From the early days of stage performances to modern television commercials, music has played an essential role in selling products and services of all kinds. Because of the increasing role of music in ads these days, modern recording artists are much more involved in the business of advertising.

Today some programming on music-focused broadcasters such as MTV seem to have blurred the line between advertising and the content of the show.

Secrets of Advertising with Music

Advertisers are willing to pay top dollar for a good tune. It might seem strange for advertisers to spend large amounts of money on music alone. After all, the direct connection between music in a commercial and the amount of money the company will make from it is difficult to quantify.

But advertisers know that a memorable song will do most of the work of catching and keeping people’s attention, sometimes, regardless of the product.

Catching people’s attention can be much more important to sales been trying to get any particular information across about the product or service being advertised.

Music also has the power to be retained in a person’s memory long after it has been heard. We’ve all had the experience of trying to get a catchy song out of our head. Knowing this is empowering to advertisers, and they frequently use this method to “get inside the head” of customers.

One very important reason for using popular music and popstars in commercials is to have a direct message permeated particular demographic, or group, within the general population.

For example, it doesn’t take a marketing whiz know that young people are the main consumers of soft drinks. This leads soft drink makers to choose recording artist who are popular with young people to help sell their product.

In the same way, popular musicians and styles of music from the 1970s might be used to sell luxury cars or other items for more sophisticated tastes.

Those are the things that nostalgic, middle-aged customers might be more likely to check out and buy.

Highlights in the history of Music in Advertising

It was during World War II that the first advertising jingle, a short piece of music that includes a slogan or product name, was broadcast over the radio in the United States.

It was for a soda called Pepsi-Cola, and it was entitled “Pepsi-Cola hits the spot.” Soon after that, the jingle for Chiquita bananas became popular. It was played nearly 400 times a day on various radio stations, but was so catchy that people never seemed to tire of it.

It was even recorded by several famous singers, and remains one of the most successful jingles of all time.

By the 1960s, the connection between popular songs and commercials was even stronger. In 1964, a song entitled “Little GTO” was a big hit in the United States. It was a song about a type of car, and the song was reportedly written at the request of the car company.

In 1966, Hertz, a major car rental company, managed to have its jingle “In the Driver’s Seat” played by over 30 college marching bands. The jingle was heard by over 3.5 million fans at college football games across the United States.

The next step for advertisers was to move beyond jingles and to obtain rights and control over the music catalogs of top artists in order to use these freely and advertisements.

In the 1980s, the Rolling Stones, Madonna and even Michael Jackson all formed close alliances with advertisers. Many Beatles fans were angry when the song “Revolution” was used to sell sport shoes, a song that was written by John Lennon who was, ironically, very against consumer society.

Some people cringed at the idea of a favorite song being associated with the product. Others were bewildered that these already-successful artists would be so quick to “sell out.”

Nonetheless, these relationships were successful and advertisers continue to hunt for potential hits. Some artists remained defiant and refuse to allow their songs to be used, but many, especially young and struggling bands, have chosen to embrace advertisers.

It is important to mention an important new trend in advertising, which is the idea that advertising is programming, and programming can be advertising.

We are all familiar with infomercials television shows that are actually long commercials.

Now, new programs or produce to the cooperation of television producers, advertisers, and retailers that have appeared on certain television networks such as MTV. These shows further confuse the difference between advertising and content.

One day, we may be watching TV shows, which seem to have no advertisements at all, but only because you won’t be able to tell the difference between the advertising and the entertainment!

This is the end of the cd 4