Music as a form of communication in advertising

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Music can be seen as a language in its own right. Music and verbal languages are forms of expression used as a way to communicate with others. Music differs to spoken word as it doesn’t need to be understood to be effective. You don’t need to understand Japanese to understand music by a Japanese composer. Music can be used to gain attention, create desired moods, change the pace of the advertising narrative facilitate brand and message recall, improve attitudes towards brands, influence purchase behaviour. “Music moves us. It brings life to solitary thoughts and memories, can comfort and relieve loneliness, promote private or shared happiness, and engender feelings of deep sadness and loss. The sounds of music communicates emotions vividly in ways beyond the ability of words and most other forms of art. It can draw us together in affectionate intimacy.” (Panksepp and Trevarthen, 2009: p105).
It is no surprise that music has been used as a communication tool in advertising from as early as the radio jingles of the 1920’s. Kellaris, Cox, and Cox, 1993 perceived music to be the single most important creative ingredient in advertising. Music in advertising works alongside spoken word and often visuals to create the overall message of the advertisement. It has been discussed as to whether musical congruity enhances or devalues the desired brand message. Although a lot of studies have proven it difficult to get accurate responses in terms of musical congruity due to the subjectivity of the topic, it seems that many reports favour the use of congruent music to communicate a message in advertising. In this essay I will be discussing these views further in relation to both recent and well established theories.
The role of music in adv...

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Songs

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Youtube

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