UPE SSA 2015

Levi’s jeans launched a new advertising campaign in Europe. Like most ads, these used music.

And what did the advertising agency choose? Handel’s “Sarabande in D minor”.

Most bands and groups are really happy to record music for ads. People associate their name with specific products — cellphones, jeans, and so on. This helps them to become famous. It also makes it easier to sell their other things – CDs and tickets for their concerts. Of course, they prefer to provide music for “cool” products. And there can be ethical problems. Will a vegetarian group provide music for a hamburger ad?

Words or emotions?

In the past, most ads used “jingles” — special words and music written about the product. But now these soundtracks are more like movie music. They express a mood, which reinforces the visual message. Often, people remember the music, and want to know who performed it — and wrote it. Then the sales of other music by the same composer usually increase dramatically. Movie music – the new classics?

The sales of movie music can be enormous. Soundtracks like “Gladiator”, “Apocalypse Now” and “Titanic” are really popular. And their success can be worldwide, too, just like the movies. “Gladiator” sold more than a million copies.

For more composers, writing movie soundtracks compensates for the difficulty of making money from their “serious” work. But what’s the difference? Pop music, dance music, classical… Perhaps it’s just music.

HOLDEN, Susan. Macmillan Portfolio / Susan Holden. São Paulo: Macmillan, 2004. Adaptado.