Throughout the history of commercials, many advertising companies have used well-known pieces—usually orchestral, jazz, or oldies pop—as background music for radio and TV ads. This is nothing new, but it’s sometimes interesting to hear what kind of music some public relations professionals decide is appropriate for their merchandise or service.
We consumers have seen and heard a plethora of commercials that have “borrowed” orchestral pieces. There’s nothing wrong with using highbrow music to try bettering a retailer’s image, as long as they have the accompanying rights. Folks who are unfamiliar with a piece will eventually associate it with the advertised product or service, if they see the commercial enough times. Most likely, though, we will recognize the tune, even if we don’t know the title of the piece.
Orchestral Pieces
My first memory of this phenomenon is the movie trailer for The Bad News Bears (1976). I was less than ten years old and didn’t know the name of the piece, but I suspected that it wasn’t originally meant for this kind of entertainment. I saw scenes of an incompetent little-league team, and recognized the battle-hardened booms and crashes of what I later learned is the 1812 Overture (1880). Composer Tchaikovsky hated this piece anyway, but I still wonder what he would have thought of his music being used to advertise such a ridiculous story.
Later, as I gained historical knowledge about music, I found out that The Lone Ranger radio theme (1933) was actually a cavalry charge from the Finale of the William Tell Overture (1829). Okay, so it’s classical music, but in a heroic, galloping horse sort of way. And Rossini? The show seemed very close to his original intent (the full opera is about a legendary Swiss bowman), and it was wildly popular, so I really don’t think the composer would have been too unhappy.
Let’s skip ahead to the mid-90s, and an American Airlines TV commercial. They incorporated a well-known musical phrase from George Gershwin’s famous Rhapsody in Blue (1924). I don’t know what it did for ticket sales, but when coupled with a big jet nosing its way out of a hangar, those few bars of music seemed to portray a quiet, majestic excitement of air travel. Now, about two decades later, many of us likely think differently about the air travel industry.
Pop Tunes
We must also remember to add older, previously mainstream songs to the mix. Sometimes one sector of the media will borrow a popular tune from another sector, or perhaps they’ll use something from a particular era of music.
For instance, a handful of years ago there was a forgettable radio commercial for the Food Lion grocery chain, and the background music was the theme from The Andy Griffith Show (1960). Instead of whistling, someone played the familiar melody on a harmonica. I couldn’t concentrate on what they were saying – all I could think of was Andy and Opie strolling down a dirt road, fishing poles in hand. (Maybe today they’d be going to the Mayberry Food Lion for bait?) Even if you didn’t recognize the tune, you might still get the relaxing, hometown feel that the producers were probably striving for.
Some commercials make use of an original, fictional character, which in itself is a fine idea, but there was a radio ad that made me cringe each time I heard it. I had to turn my radio off or change the channel. In this case, Oursman Hyundai Man just rubbed me the wrong way. Add to that the Village People’s Macho Man (1978), and you have the makings of—well, I just hope they get some visitors out of it. (Go ahead, start singing: “Orz-man Hun-day maaaan…”) All I got was the image of a cheesy super-hero dancing badly, but hey, if it got Hyundai to their sales goal, more power to them.
So there you have it: one person’s views of how borrowed music fits (or doesn’t fit) into the mainstream of advertising culture. To the ad execs: If the music is public domain, go for it, but if you need permission, please get it before recording your commercial. I say this on behalf of composers everywhere.
What commercials do you remember that borrow tunes from other media? Were they clever? Silly? Politically incorrect? Just plain bad?
Musicians: have you performed any music that was “borrowed” for commercials? Do you think advertisers should stick to original commercial jingles, or is it okay to used well-known pieces?