Best practice: Music in advertising

This best practice article reviews the role of music in advertising. It cover objectives which the author lists as gaining attention, creating a mood, giving pace and energy, making the ad more likeable, improving memorability, identifying the brand, reflecting a lifestyle and providing a background for the commercial.

Best Practice

Music in advertising

Music occurs in the majority of TV commercials, and a substantial proportion of radio ads (1, 14). This reflects its conventional role in film, TV and broadcasting, and recognises the fact that the majority of people like listening to music. The only problem is that they do not, necessarily, like listening to the same music (7). The overall popularity of music is illustrated by the strength of music titles in the speciality magazine sector (19).

There is surprisingly little formal research published on aspects of music in advertising, and although most creatives readily acknowledge the...

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