Instrumental vs. Vocal Versions of Popular Music in Advertising
Michelle L. RoehmWake Forest University Winston-Salem
An increasingly common technique for conveying advertising messages is to feature popular music[1]prominently in an advertisement (Buyikian, 1999). For example, Mercedes recently used the song ‘Falling in Love Again’ to communicate the unique emotional connection between Mercedes owners and the Mercedes brand. As the Mercedes commercial plays, audience attention is directed to Marlene Deitrich’s voice as it sings the lyrics to the popular standard. The words of the song state the core brand message of the advertisement, which is that consumers...