Last week we brought you Coke: The J.S. Bach of Brands. Time now to highlight Audi, who have certainly been taking a few notes from the master of Romantic opera: Richard Wagner.

Wagner, arguably one of the most brilliant and insane composers of his time, built his reputation on epic operas that lasted well beyond the attention span of most listeners today. His infamous Der Ring des Nibelungen, which took him 26 years to complete, clocks in at around 15 hours of performance time! You might imagine audiences would drift off after the first few hours, but how could they with ballistic themes like the legendary ‘Ride of the Valkyries’?

So what do Wagner’s epic dramas have to do with the 30-second commercials Audi has been putting out lately?

Turns out they both use musical devices known as ‘leitmotifs’. A leitmotif is a recurring theme that represents a certain idea, emotion, or character. Leitmotifs can be heard everywhere from Star Wars to The Who’s Quadrophenia to the Final Fantasy video game series. Though Wagner didn’t coin the phrase ‘leitmotif’, he used them extensively as building blocks for his operas. He referred to these themes as ‘guides-to-feeling’ and believed he could convey complex emotional ideas by combining and developing these basic motifs throughout a piece of music.

Audi, as we’ve mentioned before, have been doing something quite Wagnerian with their brand’s sound. They’ve been busy recording instrumental riffs, vocal melodies, heartbeats, even noises from the cars themselves to create their own unique ‘sound style guide’. They can then draw from this palette of themes to compose soundtracks for their future commercials. Just like Wagner, Audi are creating logical frameworks for their music, in hopes that they can more effectively tug at the consumer’s heartstrings.

Will we ever hear a 15-hour Audi opera? Let’s hope not. But if any brand is going to spawn a cult following of music theory nerds, it’s Audi.

Charlie McCarron, Sound Consultant
Matt Lee, Music Supervisor
soundlounge

After finding out about Coca-Cola’s clever injection of their own sonic logo in K’naan’s World Cup song “Wavin’ Flag”, many of our readers called Coke out as being sneaky and/or cheeky. So we at soundlounge are here in defense of their brilliant (if a bit devilish) sonic branding strategy.

In the brand-sphere, Coke have proven to be masters of this kind of “audio watermarking” – subtly embedding their brand’s sound in the music of their advertisements. But the idea of a sound signature is hardly new. In fact, the original master of audio watermarking lived and died three centuries ago: J.S. Bach.

Most composers think long and hard about the structure of their music. But Bach took it to an extreme new level. As both a musical and mathematical genius, he composed pieces so intricate and layered that scholars today still find secret meanings in his work. Some say he used the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 8, 13…) as guides for his compositions.

But his most famous hidden message is just four notes: B-flat, A-natural, C-natural, and B-natural. In the original German spelling…B, A, C, H!

It’s the Bach motif! It appears in so many of his pieces that scholars agree it’s there for a reason. It was Bach’s way of “signing” his compositions. Was it vanity? Or was it just a quirky sense of humor? We can’t be sure, but whatever his reason, this recurring theme connects his pieces on a deeper level. It might not be as obvious (or catchy) as Coke’s audio watermark in “Wavin’ Flag”, but Bach’s audio watermark is one of the most popular of all time. Over 409 works by 330 composers have used Bach’s motif in memorial to this brilliant man.

Is Coke taking a few notes from Bach? Since the start of their Open Happiness campaign, they’ve “given” their melody to dozens of international music superstars. K’naan is just the most recent in a long list of musicians to use Coke’s motif.

But “Wavin’ Flag” has seen success far beyond any of the other Coke-watermarked songs. The beauty of this for Coke is that they own this hit-single melody. They can reuse it in their advertising without any licensing fees, unlike say, the McDonald’s/Timberlake “I’m Lovin’ It” scenario. Ideally for Coke, people will hear their melody in the next Coca-Cola commercial and get all nostalgic about that fun song from the 2010 World Cup.

If any brand comes close to musical genius, it’s Coke. Will their melody last for three centuries though? We (probably) won’t be around to report on it, but don’t hold your breath…

Charlie McCarron, Sound Consultant
Matt Lee, Music Supervisor
soundlounge

And the soundlounge award this year goes to…(drum roll please)…a totally brilliant piece of sonic branding from the Coke team of music supervisors. Those who have been following soundlounge’s extensive blog coverage of World Cup advertising music will know that there were dozens of contenders for the crown. However we are all agreement here, that apart from the vuvuzelas, the most recognizable sound from this year’s World Cup has come from a previously little-known Somali-Canadian artist.

Thanks to Coke, K’naan’s song “Wavin’ Flag” has reached an amazing number one in eleven countries (and still counting). With over twenty regional remixes featuring local superstars, “Wavin’ Flag” has become the most popular and memorable soundtrack to South Africa 2010.

Coke has made K’naan an international superstar by modifying his song and promoting the “Coca-Cola Celebration Mix”. But this socially conscious rapper and poet insists this relationship with Coke doesn’t affect his integrity as a musician: “I don’t work for Coke or anything; what I do is my music.” (Billboard).

So isn’t this just a piece of band-brand marketing? Whether or not listeners are consciously aware, Coke have used a technique we call audio watermarking. This is a popular and well-known trick that has been around for centuries and used by composers and producers to weave a sound/motif into a piece of music. Unlike say the Audi sonic logo, which sits at the end of a commercial, watermarking acts like an ‘earworm’, which gets inside our brains and becomes so compulsive that we go around humming it as we walk down the street and not understanding why. We effectively become living, walking, singing commercials for Coke. Whatever K’naan would have his fans believe, embedded into “Wavin’ Flag” is an interesting piece of branding, and Coca-Cola have been priming us to wave their sonic branding flag for a while now…

Watch on Vimeo

We’ve actually been hearing this melody for years in Coke commercials. But this time the branding is even less obvious than their original “Open Happiness” song. By sneaking the Coke melody into an otherwise musically unbranded song, they’ve seen incredible success in the charts. In our opinion, it’s a much more intelligent form of branding than paying artists to name-drop brands in their lyrics.

So why doesn’t the average “Wavin’ Flag” fan connect the dots? It took us a few times before the penny dropped and we started to research. It’s as if Coke wants their motif to be subliminal, so that listeners recognize the sound but can’t say exactly why they recognize it. No other hit single has captured the sound of a brand in such an effective and clever way. Even Billboard didn’t come out and say it’s the Coke motif:

‘["Wavin Flag"] features many elements of the original song but includes a pre-chorus that sets the uplifting, unified tone of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, turning the song into one that is “more open, more inviting, more celebratory”‘.

Coke has clearly been steering the ship, taking K’naan on a grand tour of 84 countries. The big question though – what happens after the World Cup? A&M/Octone Records CEO James Diener says that Coke is “invested in K’naan for the duration of his career” (Billboard). That’s a bold statement given the fickle nature of musical popularity. If K’naan loses momentum, will Coke drop him for a fresh new artist or another ‘local’ artist for the next big sports sponsorship? Until then, will they be moderating all of K’naan’s music and infusing it with the sound of Coca-Cola?

You can be sure soundlounge will be listening out for the next Coke advert. And now that you know the Coke motif inside and out, keep your ears open and let us know if you do hear it anywhere else!

Ruth Simmons, Managing Director
Matt Lee, Music Supervisor
Charlie McCarron, Sound Consultant
soundlounge

If you enjoyed our article, feel free to say hello on Twitter – @soundlounge (and @soundequity for Ruth)

As expected after England’s exit from the world cup, the football themed adverts seemed to have ceased as brands scramble to show anything but football on their adverts! However, the world cup IS still going on so it’s left to the BBC and ITV to continue with their world cup campaign.

Both opt for adverts full of energy, although ITV are full pace from the start, whereas the BBC gradually builds to a climax bursting with energy and color. The big difference however is BBC’s editing, which is done to fit the music perfectly and therefore create an ad with far greater impact than ITV (1-0 to the BBC).

ITV’s music choice is the massive “Fire” by Jimi Hendrix. A big license for a big event, but you do question how fitting it is when compared to the well-chosen and well-synched African influenced track supporting the BBC ad. Here the track mirrors the visuals in terms of using both traditional and contemporary influences… a strong 2nd goal by the BBC.

Despite the domination by the BBC, the scale of ITV’s music choice certainly grabs attention, and the pace of the advert does excite the viewer (2-1). However the BBC gave a much stronger performance overall with a far more evocative ad, which shows how an unknown track can be so much more effective than a well-known alternative.

Final Score: BBC: 2, ITV: 1

Matt Lee, Music Supervisor
soundlounge

In anticipation of the big game between Brazil and Portugal today we couldn’t resist revisiting this old Nike ad from 2004:

Nike always seems to capture and evoke the appropriate emotions perfectly in their football adverts. This playful, Latin-influenced track by Perry Como sets the mood brilliantly. The Brazil team have featured heavily in Nike’s adverts over the years, and each time Nike have used another great Latin track: Papa Loves Mambo, Mas Que Nada, and Soul Bossa Nova.

But what happens when Nike feature some of England’s players on home soil? The classic grey backdrop of an English summer coupled with the English distinct lack of rhythm that the Brazilian’s Samba style football oozes is hardly synonymous with Latin music. This can only mean one thing…Blur!

Watch on YouTube

“Parklife” is, if anything, even more emotive than Nike’s Latin alternatives. Its classic 90’s Britpop feel helps the ad resonate with every Englishman’s memories of playing football with their mates, which is exactly what Nike intended. From an English perspective, this is possibly Nike’s best football advert, so It just goes to show that you don’t need the Brazilian flair to make an exciting football ad…the right music will do it perfectly!

Our next blog will be on Monday 28th June…let’s hope we’ll be doing a feature on songs to celebrate an English victory rather than songs of commiseration!

Matt Lee, Music Supervisor
soundlounge

What do you imagine when you think of the World Cup? Probably words such as “passion”, “excitement”, and “despair” pop into your head, which is probably why we often see adverts such as Nike’s “Write the Future” made for the World Cup, which encapsulates all these emotions beautifully.

The Guardian & Observer however have taken a much more light-hearted approach with this playful and happy cartoon accompanied by a very witty folk-style song.

Watch on Youtube

The writers of this song did a great job in making a catchy and genuinely memorable tune which, coupled with the amusing rhymes and great animation, helps make a refreshing change from the other ads out there. Hopefully we’ll see more like this in the future.

Matt Lee, Music Supervisor
soundlounge

For the making of this advert, visit PepperMelon.tv

The World Cup has been with us for over a week now but it’s not just football matches that have kept us music supervisors entertained. There has also been a battle of the brands and with it a deluge of high budget football-themed adverts. The best and biggest of the bunch is of the course Nike’s “Write the Future” ad:

But what about the other adverts? We’ve been looking at a couple of match ups on the run-up to the World Cup.

Coke vs. Pepsi

Both brands start this match with a sense of fun but you get the feeling Coke have more conviction from the off with a strong use of actual match footage. Pepsi must be disappointed with themselves after trying to no avail to get their players to act…no doubt we’ll see plenty more acting from the players during the games! Coke then double their efforts with an online campaign to inspire viewers to upload their own celebrations and its 1-0 to Coke.

Never ones to be defeated easily Pepsi attempt to strike back with a heavily African influenced track, but it seems the pace is all wrong as Coke counter with their own African influenced track that is far more evocative and memorable, 2-0 Coke. The exposure of “Wavin’ Flag” means we’re all singing along with Coke’s ad, whilst Pepsi’s remains distinctly forgettable.

Pepsi continues to battle on and has one final chance with their use of a very strong cast. The big name players such as Henry and Drogba never fail to grab our attention (2-1), although they lack the flashes of skill we’ve all come to eagerly anticipate from the Nike ads. While the familiar faces draw us in, the music certainly doesn’t…an unfortunate end result for Pepsi.

Final Score:  Coke: 2, Pepsi: 1

Matt Lee, Music Supervisor
soundlounge

Today there are 4 Spanish speaking countries playing in the World Cup so we thought we’d treat you to this 2006 advert from Adidas:

Up there as one of the classic football ads, this ad uses two great tracks for the two different sections. RJD2’s “De L’Aouette” is used during the picking of the teams and only helps with the dry wit and casual attitude of this surreal situation. As the teams kick off, Jim Noir’s “Eanie Meany” plays. The upbeat and lighter tones again just add to the sense of fun and transform the advert from good…to inspired!

In all the great football-themed adverts, the music plays a vital role in accompanying the visuals and setting the right mood. Over the next few weeks we’ll be featuring plenty more inspirational football ads so keep an eye out for your favourites!

Matt Lee, Music Supervisor
soundlounge

If you type ‘Advert’ into Google ‘Advert Music’ appears immediately after ‘Advertising’ and ‘Advertising Standards Authority’ and before all other dimensions of a television campaign. From these analytics, this would seem to suggest that it’s the music in TV commercials that captures most peoples’ imaginations. Yet in my 30 years of being in this business, the Advertising Trade press rarely give the track or music supervisor who called the tune in the first place, a mention – that is until the national press pick up the story of course.

However, considering how many commercials use music each year, it is curious that we can remember so few. When one comes along, like the recent John Lewis commercial using Fyfe Dangerfield’s version of the Billy Joel song ‘Always A Woman’, it is extraordinary how much coverage the music track elicited. It would seem that suddenly everyone becomes a music supervisor – social commentaries and explanations emerged from The Guardian to The Times to Style Magazine as to why and how the writer of the article believed the track worked. Yet the real creative minds behind the idea, the creative team at Adam & Eve and Abi Leland, (the Music Supervisor) are still, well…anonymous.

Are these tracks happy accidents (chosen in post-production and just seem to work), or are they the result of careful planning and strategic decision-making? While we are all aware that music can operate on a deep level, we still seem surprised at the level of emotional connectivity that the right music track can have with the right visual. It’s as if once a track touches us on a personal level, we are all driven to explain how those emotional connections are being made – deep meanings become attributed to a campaign that’s selling a department store.

The magic of the latest John Lewis commercial is that it takes us on a visual journey, supported by a song that has its own intrinsic narrative. The advantage of using such a well-known track is that it creates a familiarity for the viewer and whats more is perfectly ‘on brand’ with the target market – the John Lewis female customer. Joel’s song leads us into the commercial, like an old friend opening a door and welcoming us in. However what truly makes this commercial resonate so well, is the perfect match of song and imagery. Some have criticised the seeming mismatch of the lyrics (“She steals, she lies, she takes what she can.”) with the ‘cosy’ visuals. Putting aside the fact that the song is about loving someone despite their failings, we have seen many times before that it’s the overall emotion of the song that’s important and not just the lyrics – remember the emotional impact of The Cars track ‘Drive’ with footage of starving African children on Live Aid?

Music and visuals have to work seamlessly together; when one outshouts the other, it can be de-stablising to the whole experience. We literally feel out of synch. Sound and vision must have an almost symbiotic relationship with each other. It may seem an obvious conclusion, but perhaps it is only through the perfect convergence of all these elements, that we will see more commercials as successful as the recent John Lewis campaign. The agency have done a brilliant job, our only regret is we can’t add this to our showreel!

soundlounge