Why Music is More Impactful than we Thought

Throughout history, music has continued to be something of major importance to humans, something we’ve never lost touch with. 

We’ve all grown up with a certain amount of music in our lives, but there’s always a hint of nostalgia when we play back songs we were raised on, often finding ourselves recognising the tune much more easily than recalling our own memories at that time.

We use music in a practical way too. I remember coming up with songs when revising, just so it was easier to remember the source material in my mind. Amazingly, some people with severe Alzheimer’s disease are able to hum along to a tune despite not recognising anything else. It begs the question from a marketing standpoint: How much can music influence your emotions and how is it utilised in advertising?

Music in advertising is, in most cases, used as an aid of solidifying the product/service advertised in one's mind. It has been theorised that the sound waves produced activate matches in memory, which is narrowed down as the sound or melody progresses, so the next time said song is played, you may associate it with the advertisement that used it.

Just look at ‘Hold my Hand’ by Jess Glynn, for example. Every time I hear this song, even if I really dislike it, I now associate it with Jet2 Holidays when it is played.

It’s no surprise that music can influence emotions. You play a patriotic song and are filled with a surge of pride; play a popular dance song and feel the instinct to move your body to the tune. This formula doesn’t stop at advertising. Furthermore, it makes sense to use music to encourage your audience to feel a certain way when seeing your advertisement.

A good example of this is Lloyds Bank. Their ads lay heavily on the emotive side. Using songs with piano that start off in minor key and end up with the music swelling into a major key, paired with the visual of a stunning horse galloping, it creates a narrative that, with Lloyds bank, you are free. It‘s meant to make you feel inspired and happy so when you think of Lloyds Bank, you have that blanket of emotion associated.

Apple uses current popular songs to advertise new technology. This works effectively for them, as it associates popular music with new Apple products, but it also builds the narrative that this is the latest up and coming technology, that there’s nothing newer or more defined than this.

The popular songs used in these ads have a short shelf life in terms of mainstream popularity, and Apple knows this. They won’t be reusing the same ads years on end so they can afford to use popular songs now that, a year later, will be overused.

When researching, I came across another ad I really enjoyed. In 2018, Quit Smoking used an ad of people across Ireland lip-syncing to ‘I will survive’, except the context is quitting smoking. The lyrics are cleverly used as it switches up the meaning of the original song in an exceptionally clever way. Using an older song everyone recognises that remains popular to this day and subverting the meaning of it makes it easily more engaging for listeners. Music can often be used as an afterthought in advertising, but this is at the forefront of the ad and paired with an incredible message - I love it. 

So, what can we learn from this and how can we use music ourselves? Well, we need to ask the right questions. What is the purpose of your advertisement and how do you want listeners to be left feeling? Consider the music to reflect the main message, rather than an afterthought. Afterall, it can be quite the influence.

Sadie Pittman, Cohort 41 Content Creator Apprentice at Elevate