Music in Advertising and Electronic Media: Tutorial

General mood of a film

Film music helps a listener to understand if the narrative is funny, scary, romantic, etc. Music can enhance the quality and size of a space. The music of Alien makes small or artificial spaces appear grand and realistic. The music in films can also convey the feel of the era, such as the music of Elizabeth. War movies have different moods from music—brutal in Terminator, tragic in Saving Private Ryan.

Music in Cinema

As discussed in the previous section, music is an important part of cinema. You have seen how theme music plays an important role in movies. Let's consider how music is created to be a vital part of cinema. A variety of descriptive musical selections go into a cinema production. These include number-one hits on the radio, newly composed music, sound effects, and mixes. The choice of a particular sound effect may show up frequently in a movie. In a suspense movie, you'll typically hear the same sound effect repeated when an emotional scene is enacted. A suspenseful sound effect can be created through the use of minor seconds (two notes next to each other on the keyboard). For example, the suspenseful sound played frequently in the movie Jaws is an example of this minor second effect. In the very beginning of this theme song by John Williams, the minor seconds are present in the bass. The audience may feel the tension grow as the minor seconds increase in speed. You can identify the minor seconds, the addition of instruments, the tempo, and the percussive instruments by listening to the music from Jaws.

Music in Advertising

We find music everywhere—on radio, on television, on our cell phones, and in the celebration of festivals. Advertising has extrapolated and magnified its appeal to its target customers by using music to promote products. Advertising is not a persuasive one-on-one conversation. It is meant for a wider target audience—customers who are most likely to buy a particular type of product or service. Originally used in newspapers and magazines, advertising has since evolved and become widespread through mass electronic media. Radio and television media are entirely supported by advertising revenues, unlike the entertainment industry (cinema, theater, and concerts). As such, the primary aim of advertising in radio and television is to influence the audience in the best possible way to buy a product. Music helps advertising become more influential. Advertisers can combine images and music to influence people in terms of a social meaning and psychological motivation. A popular hit song may be used to catch the fancy of a particular age group for the product that is being advertised. For example, the popular song, Little Talks, by Of Monsters and Men was used in a recent Coca-Cola commercial. The commercial had a remix of the song and was performed exclusively with instruments. The customer who is familiar with this song is likely to hum along or sing along. Jingles are also used to draw an audience to a specific product. When catchy jingles are played frequently, it is easier for the audience to remember the jingle and associate it with the product. The jingle used for Oscar Mayer bologna or hot dogs is targeted at younger children. It's easier for the younger population to remember and sing along when they hear the jingle, "I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Wiener."

Targeting

When marketers target a group of people as their potential customers, they create a target audience. In order to influence the target audience through music in an advertisement, marketers use a specific type of music for a specific target audience. For example, the music used in an advertisement for schoolbags will be different from the music used for an advertisement for a kitchen appliance. Notice that the target audience for schoolbags is schoolchildren, and for kitchen appliances, it is primarily women. Advertisers can use specific styles of music that match or relate to the target audience's lifestyle or demography.

Music in Television

Television is an integral part of our lives today. Although it was originally a medium of telecommunication, television has evolved into a medium of entertainment. Television is derived from the Greek letter tele, meaning "far," and the Latin word visio, meaning "sight." You must have noticed how music is an integral part of most of television events. During the 1980s, the popular cable television network, MTV, was launched to show music videos. It was a major milestone for the music industry, and it made many music performers popular. Michael Jackson (one of the superstars of pop/rock music) became popular because his videos, shown on television, added a new and special flavor to music. Jackson's Thriller became a huge success on television channels. Following the success of Michael Jackson's music videos, a horde of musicians also aired their videos on television to gain popularity. Popular music bands such as the Backstreet Boys, Boyzone, Spice Girls, and others reached the peak of their popularity because their music videos became hits on television. Even solo singers—such as Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, George Michael, Britney Spears, etc. —reached wider audiences and became popular because their music videos were shown on television networks such as MTV and Channel V. As music evolved through the ages, from prehistoric times to the nineteenth century, there was a wave of change that was evident in the use of music and the demand for music. The use of, and demand for, music is mediated by the music industry. This music industry underwent many changes up to the end of the nineteenth century. The evolution of new technologies and communication channels made it easy for people to access music through television in the twentieth century. MTV, in particular, created a revolution in the demand for music. Headquartered in Los Angeles, MTV was launched on August 1, 1981. The objective of this music channel was to play only music videos to cater to the rising number of music fans. As a result, video jockeys also became popular through music videos. It was a new form of entertainment for all music lovers. They could now watch their favorite musicians and singers perform from the comfort of their homes, through television. The major segment of the audience for MTV music videos was (and is, even today) teenagers and adolescents. MTV's first music video show was the Buggles' Video Killed the Radio Star. Music is an integral part of music videos. However, music is also used in television programs as theme music. Theme music refers to the piece of music that serves to introduce or represent a television program, radio program, video game, or movie. The theme song acts as a signature song for the program. The theme music sets the mood for the program that is about to begin. Examples of theme music can be found in early radio shows and television shows, such as Gilligan's Island, the Nanny, the Land of the Lost, etc. The lyrics of the music for such shows were designed to provide an introductory exposition for first-time audiences. You can hear theme music in many famous animation movies, such as Batman, Spiderman, Tintin, etc. Popular singers often sing theme music for popular shows. For example, Cyndi Grecco sang the theme song for Laverne & Shirley, and the Rembrandts sang the theme song I'll Be There for You for the popular TV show Friends. Theme songs are also used for each TV episode to capture the interest of specific audiences. A theme song typically summarizes the characters, settings, sporting event, and genre of the show/series. For example, listen to the NFL theme song on FOX. Theme music is also associated with the popularity of many hit movies. Songs and music from movies play a major role in our life experiences, especially the music we listen to in our younger years. Do you remember the songs that you selected and sang as your favorites from your favorite movies? Examples of famous theme songs from movies are Everything I Do by Bryan Adams from the movie Robin Hood, and Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison from the movie with the same name.

Life and feelings of a character

A film director can express unspoken thoughts with music, and can also define a character. For example, the sound used to define the mother character in Psycho, and the feelings of Bruce Almighty with I Feel Good.

Narrative structure

A well-composed musical score develops a sense of order and pace in the narration. For example, the music in Magnolia and The Thin Blue Line creates structural unity.

Theories on Film Music

According to Lipscomb and Tolchinsky, film music consists of a musical score, ambient sound, dialogue, sound effects, and silence. They postulated that all these elements contribute to produce a "harmonious counterpoint to the visual image." Cohen (2001) proposed a fully developed model known as the congruence-associationist framework for understanding film-music communication. It is a multistage model that tries to understand the meaning and relationship between visual images, spoken narrative, and musical sound. Gorbman (1987) proposed a comprehensive theory on the role and function of film music. She listed a number of principles for composition, mixing, and editing in classical Hollywood films, during the period between the 1930s and 1940s. Gorbman primarily focused on Max Steiner's film scores from Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, and King Kong. The seven principles stated by Gorbman include the following: ---Invisibility: The technical apparatus of nondiegetic music (sounds not meant to be heard by characters in a narrative, such as an orchestral score) should not be seen. ---Inaudibility: The film music is not meant to be consciously heard. ---Emotion: Film music is a signifier of emotion. ----Cues: Film music provides referential and narrative cues. ----Continuity: Film music provides rhythmic and formal continuity. ---Unity: Film music helps in constructing formal and narrative unity. A given film score may violate any of these principles, provided the violation serves to support the other principles. Gorbman also stated three ways in which music is important to a narrative film. The first is purely musical significance: one musical tone is inter-related to the other. The second is the inclusion of cultural musical codes that signify music associated with a mood or state of mind. The third is through cinematic codes, which influence music by their placement in a film context. One example of such placement is in the opening and closing title sequences. Nicholas Cook proposed another important theory on musical multimedia. He disagrees with Gorbman's classification of the music-image and music-narrative. He states that "words and pictures deal primarily with the specific, with the objective, while music deals primarily with responses—that is, with values, emotions, and attitude ... the connotative qualities of the music complement the denotative qualities of the words and pictures." Cook says that different media can relate to each other in three basic ways—conformance, complementation, and contest. Conformance implies that the music represents the meaning of the image, and vice versa. Contest implies that the meaning of one media contradicts the meaning of the other media. Complementation implies that there is no consistency or contradiction in the relationship between different media (each media has the same narrative structure but expresses each structure differently).

Film Score

Many believe that film music originated as a solution to mask the painful noise of a projector in the earlier days of cinema. This was the starting point for the film score. A film score is an integral part of cinema today. A film score is also called the background music of a movie. As a part of the film's soundtrack, a film score is a combination of sound effects and dialogue. It involves cues (orchestral, instrumental, and choral pieces) that are played at specific key points, such as the beginning or the end of the movie, or at specific scenes in a movie, to heighten the dramatic effect and add an emotional appeal. The film's director and producer guide the music composers to write scores. An ensemble of musicians—such as an orchestra, a band, a choir, or instrumental soloists—perform on scores that are recorded by a sound engineer. Scores often do not have lyrics and are mostly Western classical music. You may also find scores that show the influence of rock, jazz, and world music. Since the mid-twentieth century, a number of scores have used a combination of orchestral music and electronic elements. Music composers also use music composition software to create scores. It is important to keep in mind that songs are usually not considered a part of a film's score. Songs are part of a movie's soundtrack. However, musicals include songs that are influenced by the movie's score.

Lyrical language

Marketers often opt for using a lyrical language (rather than logical language) in advertising. A message that might sound boring or too technical when spoken can be made to sound interesting through the lyrical language of music. Music has an emotional appeal that helps a message reach a wider audience. So advertisers often use poetic messages, rather than logical messages, to express corporate identity. For example, if an airline advertisement wants to talk about an increase in their number of destinations and flights, a simple song line, "We can fly you to your friends far and wide," has more lyrical appeal than "We have increased our number of flights." Advertisements that aim to provide factual details can combine speech with music to increase appeal.

Structure and continuity

Music can also be used to link disjointed images in an advertisement. The clever use of music helps to connect any sequence that might appear disjointed or unrelated and therefore provides continuity for the advertisement's message. Music can even heighten an advertisement's dramatic moments and give a boost to the ad's meaning. Music can act a narrative prop for the advertisement, and can even contribute its melodies—to create an antagonist and a protagonist, for example—in a storyline.

Authority establishment

Music can help establish authority in an advertisement. Authority establishment refers to the use of authoritative figures to certify the purpose or usefulness of a product. Often, celebrities are used to establish the authority of a brand or product. An interesting piece of music can be used to add to the authority of such advertisements in order to enhance the customer's association of the product with the particular celebrity.

Entertainment

Music is a source of entertainment for all. Advertisers understand this fact and therefore use music to make an ad attractive. The aim is to capture the audience's attention with an interesting piece of music. The music need not represent the product in a literal way—it needs to be interesting and catchy enough for the audience to connect it with the product. Marketers aim to facilitate brand recall, so the music is woven in as entertainment to go with the advertising.

Memorability

Music used as entertainment in advertising helps in brand recall; and in the same way, music with the product name in it also helps in brand recall. It is said that humans have a stronger memory for melodies than for visual images associated with an object. Therefore, advertisers create jingles or songs with the product name embedded in them, for example with a rhyme scheme. This helps make the product more memorable. Marketers use the value of this increased memorability to weave in their product's name, phone number, website, or company name with the advertisement's music.